


Work in Progress | Tom Holland

by Captainpparker618



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spiderman - Fandom, tom holland - Fandom
Genre: Arranged Marriage, F/M, Love, Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 32,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23881195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captainpparker618/pseuds/Captainpparker618
Summary: On the brink of poverty, Ellery Price is set up by her headstrong mother to save them from their struggle. After her mom runs into Mr. Holland and learns of his wealthy, but loveless son, her mind sparks an idea that involves an arranged marriage and a plan to secure her daughter a happy future that's free of destruction, or so she thought.★New chapter posted every Wednesday!
Relationships: Tom Holland (Actor)/Peter Parker/Original Female Character(s), Tom Holland / Original Female Character
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

-Background Info-

Ellery Price is the 20 year old daughter of her widowed mother, Rose Price. Her father passed away unexpectedly a few years ago when he was driving home from work one night. Ever since, her mom hasn't been able to keep a job due to her poor work ethic and unmotivated attitude. Now, Ellery and her mom are living in San Francisco, California, struggling to pay rent. Ellery was unable to go to college due to the high expense of college tuition, so she decided to stay home and become a nanny to try and make enough money to support both her and her mother.

Tom Holland is one of the most famous 23 year old actors of his time. He lives in London to be close with his family, but is often traveling for work. He is very wealthy, as you can imagine, and his most recent movie, Spiderman Far From Home, just released in theaters. He is currently in San Francisco, California with his father, Dominic, and brother, Harry, for the movie premiere and interviews with his cast mates.  
This story takes place from Ellery's POV!

Chapter 1  
Family. What does this word really mean? Two or more people connected by blood? To me, it's the people in life who want you in theirs and would do anything to see you smile. 

I just got back from nannying my most favorite kids, Amelia and Dylan. I've been the nanny for the Bennett family for the past several months while the children are on summer vacation. The parents both have high paying jobs that they can't miss, so they hired me. They're a very sweet family and I absolutely adore the children. I am so blessed with this amazing job and really feel like I'm part of the family.

It isn't always an easy job, but they make me feel right at home. More at home than I actually do in my own house. 

I became a nanny to help support my mother and I as we go through these tough times. My dad was always the back bone of the family, but after he passed away, my mom has been so upset and can't hold a job because of how depressed she gets at times. We're struggling to pay rent from month to month in this small apartment that we live in. This nannying job is barely keeping us going, but it's the only option I have considering I wasn't able to go to college and earn a degree. Plus, I'm used to taking care of myself and others, like my mom, so nannying seemed like a fitting job. 

My mom is currently out buying groceries because we noticed our pantry was very bare yesterday. 

Just as I turn on the sink to start washing some dishes, my beautiful mom walks through the door. Even though she let herself go after dad died, she still manages to be naturally beautiful. 

I was definitely devastated when my sweet father unexpectedly passed away. It happened my senior year of high school and it was so hard to wake up and continue going to school everyday. It hurt my heart knowing that he'd never see me walk the stage at graduation. But, my mom got so depressed that we lost all the money we had saved up and she stopped caring. So, I had to grow up quickly and take care of this broken family. There's no time to be sad anymore with how busy I am.

"Elle! You'll never guess who I ran into at the store!" My mom says cheerfully, obviously wanting me to guess.

"Hm. Ryan Reynolds?" I guess sarcastically and she shakes her head no as she rolls her eyes. "Dang it, thought I had that one."

"No! I ran into a guy that I met in London!" My mom says and I become confused. How would I have guessed that?

"You've been to London?" I ask her.

"Yeah. I was there a month for a study abroad trip back in college." She tells me and I laugh. Her parents, who were so greedy with their money and left us nothing when they died, paid for her to go on a study abroad trip to London?

"Your parents paid for you to go to London? They didn't even pay to let you finish college." I remind her.

"I actually paid for the trip myself with the money I earned from my summer job that year." She informs me and I nod my head in understanding. Maybe if she had saved that money, then she'd have gotten a degree and could actually get a real job now to support us. "Anyways, his name is Dominic and he is here in Cali for a couple weeks with two of his sons!" She says happily.

"So?" I ask. I don't mean to be rude, but does she have a point?

"So, I invited them over for dinner tomorrow." My mom tells me. She seems much happier than normal and she's starting to freak me out.

"You invited people over to our dirty, little apartment to feed them food that we barely have for ourselves?" I ask her yet another question.

"Yep!" My mom says like there's nothing wrong with that. I just sigh in acceptance and continue cleaning the dishes. Looks like I'm going to have to clean the rest of this apartment tonight so that it can look acceptable enough for our guests. 

"Why did you invite him over? Did y'all become friends or something when you went to London?"

"We met at some bar during my first week there and immediately hit it off. The whole rest of the trip, I would sneak off to go be with him. It was like the Lizzie McGuire movie but he didn't end up being a snake. I just had to come back to the states and it was hard to keep in touch, so we stopped being friends." My mom explains. I can't believe I never knew my mom has been to London and met a british boy. I feel bad that they couldn't stay friends. 

Sounds like they had some chemistry with each other considering she would sneak out. "Is he married now?" I ask her with a wink. Maybe she invited him over because he's single and she wants to try and date him or something. 

"Yes," she says sadly. "I just invited him over so we could catch up. Nothing more," she says but for some reason I feel like she's hiding something from me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Book Summary 
> 
> On the brink of poverty, Ellery Price is set up by her headstrong mother to save them from their struggle. After her mom runs into Mr. Holland and learns of his wealthy, but loveless son, her mind sparks an idea that involves an arranged marriage and a plan to secure her daughter a happy future that's free of destruction, or so she thought.

I cleaned as much as I could yesterday and today. I'm pretty proud of how the apartment looks at the moment and I'm hoping our guests are distracted by the cleanliness so they don't notice how small it is. 

I cooked grilled chicken and broccoli from the ingredients my mom bought yesterday at the store and I'm super excited to see how it tastes. We don't have any fancy silverware so I guess our plastic cups and utensils will have to do.

I suddenly hear a loud knock at the door and look over to my mom who's sitting on the couch. It doesn't seem like she hears it so I walk over from the kitchen to the front door. Here it goes.

I swing the door open to see a middle aged man with glasses speaking with his two sons. He looks up at me and smiles. "You must be Ellery!" The man says as he walks inside.

"It's nice to meet you," I kindly say and shake his hand. He walks straight over to my mom, who has finally gotten up off the couch, and leaves me with his two sons. They really do look alike with their dark hair. One of them seems oddly familiar, like I've seen him before somewhere.

"Hi, I'm Harry," the one with the curlier hair says and awkwardly waves at me.

"Where's your wand?" I say at an attempt to make a joke but then I suddenly realize that probably sounded like a dirty comment and my cheeks begin to blush. "Just- just cause you said Harry. Like Harry Potter," I clarify to him and he laughs.

"Yeah, I got that," Harry says with a smile and I start to laugh with him. This couldn't be off to a more awkward start.

"I'm Tom," the other brother says with his adorable british accent and holds out his hand for me to shake. I put my hand in his and feel a sparking sensation between the two of us. I quickly pull my hand away and he doesn't break eye contact. Did he just feel that?

After staring into his beautiful eyes for way to long, where I've seen him from suddenly dawns on me. "Wait- you're," I begin to say but quickly turn to my mother. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" I say and basically drag her into the bedroom and close the door.

"That was pretty rude to our guests," my mom informs me.

"I'm sorry, but you didn't tell me your friends son was Tom Holland! THE Tom Holland!" I tell her. I finally realized where I've seen him from. I'm not a big movie fan, considering we don't have a tv, so it took me awhile to realize he's a famous actor!

"Oh it must have slipped my mind," she says with a mischievous smile. She totally has to be up to something! "Why is that important anyways? He's just a normal person," she tells me.

"I know, but I didn't know our guests were going to have a celebrity as a son. I'm embarrassed," I honestly tell her. I would've tried straightening up the apartment a little more if I knew. I just feel like they're going to be judging everything we have now. 

"They're very nice people, I promise. Just give them a chance," my mom says and I huff in acceptance. She opens the bedroom door and I follow out behind her to see the Holland boys sitting on the couch in deep conversation. I guess they are just like any ordinary people.

"Who's ready to eat?" My mom asks and they all jump up off the couch in excitement. We all head towards the kitchen and everyone sits down at the table except for me. I grab our plates out of a cabinet and can see Tom staring at me from the corner of my eye. I ignore him as I set each plate in front of them. 

"Thank you," Tom says kindly as I place his plate in front of him. He stands up and follows me to the stove. "Do you need any help?" He asks me as I pick the pot up to get ready to serve.

"No thanks, I can do it," I tell him and he sits back down. That was nice of him to ask, but I'm highly capable of bringing people their food. I do it all the time for the kids I nanny.

After asking how much food everyone wants on their plates and serving them, I make my own plate and sit down in the only available seat next to Tom.

"Who made this? It's delicious!" Harry says as he shoves more bites of chicken into his mouth.

My mom points proudly at me and I awkwardly smile. "It tastes great!" Tom adds to Harry's compliment.

"Thanks," I awkwardly say. I'm not really used to people complimenting my cooking. Nobody ever tastes it except for the kids I nanny and my mom. But they don't bother to say whether they like it or not.

"So what brings you to San Francisco?" I ask the Holland boys and take another bite of my food.

"We're here for a bit to do some press for my new movie that's releasing soon." Tom informs me and I nod.

"Oh. What movie?" I ask cluelessly.

"Spiderman Far From Home." Tom says happily. 

"I've never seen any of those Marvel movies." I tell him and a shocked expression forms on his face.

"What? How is that even possible? They're awesome!" Tom says passionately. I just smile at how hurt he actually seems by what I just told him.

"Well maybe I'll have to give them a shot." I tell him and he smiles at the hope I just gave him.

I glance over at my mom and both her and Dominic look like proud parents that we're actually getting along. She looks over at Dominic with a questioning look and he just nods his head. They both turn to face us.

"So, Dom and I have discussed a plan that we think would help both you and Tom," my mom says as she faces me. Is that Dominic's nickname or something?

"A plan?" I asked confused and look over at Tom to see if he knows what the hell they're talking about. He looks very nervous considering he's sweating up a storm. Does he know?

"We believe it would be very beneficial to the both of you if...," my mom pauses and looks over at Dominic for reassurance. He begins to speak to take over for my mom who looks like she's about to pass out.

"We have arranged marriage for the two of you." He spits it out.


	3. Chapter 3

I can feel my face suddenly grow pale. The room feels like the heat is on full blast and I turn to see Tom just staring at me.

"What the hell? This is a joke, right?" I finally muster up the words to speak. 

"I'm sorry sweetie, but it isn't." My mom tells me and I continue to look at her in disbelief. 

"This has got to be a nightmare that I'm suddenly stuck in!" I shout and stand up abruptly out of my chair.

"Honey, the days are passing and we are just becoming more poor by the minute. We believe that this arranged marriage would help support you. It'll give you a future that I could never give you," she says on the verge of tears and I just laugh. This is unbelievable.

"That's ridiculous! I can support myself!" I continue to shout. A sudden realization dawns on me that Tom knew about this from the beginning. "You! How could you agree to this?" I turn to Tom and shout in his face. 

"My agent said it'd be a good growing point in my career if I had a relationship open to the public."

"So you're just using me to get more famous? Like you need even more fans? You're already a stuck up rich boy!" How can someone be so selfish?

"He's not stuck up!" Harry chimes in and I laugh.

"Oh so you need your servant of a brother to speak up for you?" I ask in disgust.

"I can speak for myself!" Tom says angrily and shoots his brother a glare.

"You disgust me!" I shout at him again. How could he possibly agree to this? Am I just some charity case to him?

"Elle, I'm sorry! But I agree with my dad that this could help the both of us." Tom says and I give him an evil glare.

"Only my friends call me Elle and you are most definitely not my friend!" I say with an emphasis on the not. "Mom can I talk to you for a moment," I turn to my mother and ask. She nods her head slowly and we head back into the bedroom, leaving the boys in the kitchen. Tom is going to regret ever saying yes to this whole arranged marriage thing with me. I'm going to make him wish he had said no.

My mom walks into the bedroom and I close the door. "Again, this is a joke right? Like some cruel prank? Did I do something horrible and you're trying to get back at me?" I ask my mom many questions to try and understand. I want to understand why she would do this to me. I know I haven't really had my future exactly mapped out, but that doesn't mean she needs to take over and plan it for me. She needs to figure out her own life first.

"I know you don't want to do this, but-" my mom begins but I rudely interrupt.

"I sure as hell don't want to do this! I would rather live in a box than marry him and become a charity case to that boy!" I shout and point towards the door.

"Don't raise your voice at me young lady!" My mom shouts back in defense and I roll my eyes.

"I have every right to yell at you! You, on the other hand, have no right to control my life! I am old enough to be living on my own right now! I'm not legally bound to live with you anymore and could have easily left you to fend for yourself after dad died and you became a hermit crab. But no! I stayed here to earn money for the two of us, so you wouldn't have to lose everything!" I defend myself and can feel tears fighting in the back of my eyes. 

"Well, what you've done sadly hasn't been enough." My mom simply says and it breaks my heart. I've worked my ass off nannying kids every day and this is how she thanks me? By saying that my work hasn't been enough?

"Maybe if you, the parent in this relationship, had a job and provided for our crappy family, then this whole arranged marriage thing wouldn't be an option!" I shout back and can see tears begin to form in my mother's eyes as well. I do feel bad for yelling at her, but I'm not going to admit that.

I grumpily sit down on the bed and after a few seconds, my mom slowly walks over and sits silently down beside me.

"Elle, I know it's hard to believe, but I'm doing this for you. I know I've barely been a mother to you, but after your dad passed away, my heart completely shattered. I became so depressed I could barely move, which you probably remember." My mom says and I nod my head as I remember my mom never leaving her room for at least two weeks. I had to slowly crack open the door and slide food in to get her to eat. That's when I had to start taking care of her. "After I quit working, I've just become lazy. I don't know how to get motivated anymore."

"That is no excuse to stop caring for your daughter. How do you think I felt after dad passed away? To go from two parents to one made me physically sick! But you wouldn't know that, considering you locked yourself up. You didn't even care about how the accident affected me. You still don't! You never ask how I'm doing! That hurts me, mom. Or should I even call you that? It's like, after the accident, I went from two parents to none." I admit to her and that's when the tears start to flow for both of us. I've never openly expressed my feelings to her about our current relationship before. It feels good to let it out, but it's hard to admit what I'm feeling out loud.

"I regret how I handled the situation. If I could go back and change it, then I would. But I can't. So all I can say is I'm sorry." My mom says and puts her hand on top of mine. I slowly stand up and walk to the other side of the room to distance myself from her. She sighs and continues speaking. "But this arranged marriage thing is still happening."

Those last words don't help the tears that are continually streaming down my face. "I don't want to fucking marry him! What don't you understand!" I begin to shout again with no care if the Holland boys hear.

"Tom is a nice boy and so is his family! Now keep your voice down! You're being very disrespectful!" She says with a harsh tone. One minute this woman is crying about being a horrible mother and apologizing, then the next she is being completely unreasonable and rude. 

"A nice boy? First, he actually agreed to this whole stupid arrangement and second, he's only doing it for a selfish reason!" I tell her. 

"He didn't have a say in this, just like you. Helping his career is just one beneficial thing in all this. It's to help the both of you. And hopefully, through time, you begin to care for one another." My mom says and I laugh.

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm done arguing. This is giving me a headache!" I say and begin to rub my temples. There is no getting through to this woman. Care for one another? Seriously?

"Listen. I know you're going to hate me even more because of this, but the decision is final. You two don't have to rush things, okay? You can start off slow and simply go on dates to get to know one another. But after a couple of months, a proposal will be happening and wedding bells will be ringing, alright?" My mom explains the plan to me calmly. 

"That's every girls dream, to have their mom force a proposal on them with a boy they don't like." I say sarcastically and roll my eyes.

"You don't even know him, so how can you not like him? Just give him a chance." My mom says and stands up. She walks over to the door and walks out, closing the door behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

After standing in the bedroom for a few minutes and contemplating jumping out the window, I finally walk back out into the living room. The Holland boys and my mom are just sitting around the kitchen table and having a conversation, acting like everything is normal. But it isn't! The brunette haired boy with the beautiful eyes, that I hate how I can't resist, is going to be my future husband. 

My mom said she is doing this for me and I guess I believe her. I truly do feel bad for my mom. She just doesn't want my life to end up like hers. Although, I think she would have a pretty good life if she actually tried and worked hard for once in her life. She relied too much on dad, so when he passed away, she just didn't know what to do next. She definitely handled the situation badly.

I really don't want to end up like my mother. I don't want a man that I just rely on for anything and everything. I don't need some boy for my life to end up successful. But since my mom disagrees and I don't want to argue anymore, I guess I have to go through with this.

I walk into the kitchen with my arms crossed and stand at the end of the table. Everyone's heads turn to look at me and I sigh. "Now what?" I simply ask. What's supposed to happen now that I'm forced to marry this boy?

"Dominic had a great idea! You can finish out the press tour with Tom and go along with him!" My mom says happily with a huge smile on her face. "That way you two can get to know eachother more!"

They probably just want me going with him, so that the press can find out about me and put Tom's face all over the internet.

I glance over at Tom and he's showing no apparent emotion on his face whatsoever. He's just staring down at his empty cup. He's probably thinking about how he's dreading to be with me. I feel the same exact way about him, though.

"I don't really have any clothes for something like that." I remind my mother. If I'm supposed to show up in front of the press and suddenly be Tom's new girlfriend, then I need to look presentable. That'll be impossible with my wardrobe.

"I can take you to get new clothes." Tom speaks up and his eyes meet mine. He has a half smile on his face that I can't tell if it's genuine or not.

"Why? Because you don't want to show up with an ugly girl like me in front of the paparazzi?" I ask him harshly.

"That's not what I said." Tom says quietly and looks back down at his cup. 

"Honey, that was nice of him to offer. Stop being rude!" My mom snaps at me and my face turns red. I don't care that she yelled at me in the bedroom, but it's embarrassing to be yelled at in front of strangers. Well, I guess soon to be family. Gross.

"So, when do we leave?" I ask to change the subject.

"Tom can pick you up tomorrow, so that you have time to pack." Dominic tells me. I nod my head and walk away. I don't even care about cleaning the dishes tonight. I'm just ready to be out of here. Maybe it'll be good for me to be away from my mom for a change. I've always felt tied down to her and responsible for everything. It's time to let her fend for herself and maybe when she gets completely desperate, she'll start trying to turn her life around.

I walk into my bedroom and close the doors behind me. There's no point in saying goodbye to the Holland boys. I'll be seeing them a lot more from this point on.

—————

"Honey! Tom is here!" I hear my mom shout outside my closed bedroom door. I roll my eyes as I zip up my small suitcase. I never realized how little I have. All of my personal belongings that are important to me fit into the worlds smallest suitcase. We had to sell a ton to even afford this apartment. I wish dad had left us with more money. Then I wouldn't be in this mess.

I walk out to see Tom in my kitchen yet again. He has on a plain black shirt that has short sleeves, perfect for showing off his toned arms. Why the heck am I thinking about his arms? I'm not supposed to like this kid!

"Hey." Tom's face lights up a little and he head nods toward me. "Ready to go?" 

I nod my head yes and he looks down to see the suitcase I am rolling behind me. "Have anything in your room that I need to carry? Boxes?" He asks politely.

"Nope." I simply say.

"That's it?" He asks me confused.

"Not everyone is rich and has a billion belongings." I snap at him. He keeps a straight face and walks toward the front door. I follow behind him because I really don't care to say a sappy goodbye to my mom. 

"See ya later, Ms. Price!" Tom says to my mom and opens the door for me.

"Goodbye! Take good care of my daughter for me!" My mom tells Tom and takes a step toward me. She awkwardly gives me a one second hug before I back away.

"Bye." I say to her. 

"I love you, sweetheart. Don't annoy that boy to much." She says and I roll my eyes for the second time at her today. 

I walk out the front door and close it behind me. Tom and I begin to walk down my hallway to the staircase. My mom and I live on the 3rd floor of our apartment building, which is nice because I don't have to walk up and down a lot of stairs. I'm definitely not going to miss this place though. I could never call it a home. It's so run down and holds many bad memories.

"Want me to carry that for you?" Tom asks me and motions toward the suitcase.

"I'm highly capable of pulling my own suitcase." I snap at him again. For some reason, everything this boy says just offends me.

"I never said you weren't able to! I was just trying to be nice!" Tom defends himself as he shoves his hands in his pockets. 

We awkwardly walk down the stairs together and he opens the exit door for me. I look around to try and guess which car is his. We walk over to a shiny black car and I can't help but grin to myself. Of course he has a fancy black car. I wonder how much this thing cost. An arm and a leg?

"So what's the plan?" I ask him as I climb into the passenger seat. 

"I'm taking you shopping." Tom tells me and puts the car in reverse.


	5. Chapter 5

"Why on earth are we going shopping?" I ask him confused. 

"Because you said you needed clothes to wear on my press tour. And telling by the size of your suitcase, you need more things." Tom says and I can hear the judgment clear in his voice.

"Excuse you! I don't need your pity money! Just because you're rich and I'm-" I begin to say but Tom interrupts me.

"Stop putting words into my mouth! Why are you so offensive all the time, anyways? I haven't even known you for 24 hours and I already know you're the most sensitive person I've ever met!" Tom shouts at me. I did not expect that.

"It's not my fault you're self centered and just want to rub your money all in my face!" I shout back at him and cross my arms. Tom pulls over, puts the car in park, and turns to look at me.

"Not once have I done that! You're just too entitled to realize that I'm just trying to help you!" Tom shouts and stares at me intently. 

"You're not trying to help me! You just agreed to marry me to get your face on more magazines! Well how are you going to feel after this ugly face is plastered on every cover with you?" I shout back and point to my face.

"Why do you degrade yourself so much? You literally keep calling yourself ugly and poor when nobody else thinks that!" Tom tells me and his face looks kind of upset now.

"Because I am! And you know what? I really don't want to be on the cover of a freaking magazine or have my face plastered all over the news, but you wouldn't know cause no one has even asked me how I feel about this!" I shout and sigh at the end. I can't believe I just admitted that to him. Wow I sound like I have such a low self esteem.

"You are honestly so beautiful, Ellery. Don't say that about yourself. And I'm also sorry that I haven't considered how you feel about the situation. I know it can be hard." Tom says and I just want to continue shouting at him. He doesn't know how I feel! He has all the confidence in the world and is perfectly comfortable with interviews and being all over the internet.

"You suck! You would never understand." I tell him and turn to look out the window. I don't want this pretty boy to compliment me anymore. It just makes me feel like he feels bad for me and is judging me even more.

"Being a celebrity is a lot harder than you think, so I totally understand where you're coming from. Having every waking move you make being posted all over social media can be annoying at times. That's why you just can't let it get to you." Tom says softly and I turn to glance at him. He's still staring at me. The temptation to lean in and kiss this boy is insane.

"Can we please drive now?" I ask. I want to get out of this car as fast as possible. Tom nods his head and puts the car back in drive before pulling back into the road. The car is awkwardly silent the whole rest of the ride. I can't believe we just got into an argument about basically my low confidence. That's embarrassing.

How am I supposed to be with this boy for the rest of my life? I'm already sick of him. Maybe after awhile he'll get sick of me too, if he isn't already, and want to file for a divorce or something. Maybe he'll fall in love with someone else during this whole facade and we won't have to get married after all.

Tom breaks my thoughts when he pulls into the mall parking lot and says "we're here". I turn my head to see Tom looking at me curiously. He probably knows that I'm thinking about how I want this to end already.

"Before we get out of the car, I just want you to know that this whole deal thing starts now. The moment we step out of this car, the public will be seeing us together for the first time and it'll all begin. So we just have to try to act like a couple, okay? I know you don't want to do this and believe me, I don't either. But according to our parents, it's what has to be done." Tom informs me and just the mention of my mom makes me scream on the inside. She's the one making me do this in the first place. I shouldn't be mad at Tom, I should be mad at her. That's also the first time Tom has admitted he doesn't want to do this whole arrangement either. He's forced into this just as much as I am. 

"Alright." I say in agreement. "I can act like your girlfriend, but I don't know how well your acting skills are, so don't blow it." I say jokingly. Tom smirks because he obviously knows he's a great actor. He wouldn't be famous if he wasn't.

"I'm going to open your car door for you." Tom says as he steps out of the car. He comes around to my side and opens the door so that I can get out.

"Wow what a gentleman." I say sarcastically with a laugh. The last time I had someone open my door for me was when my dad was still alive. My dad was the sweetest man. I sure do miss him. 

"Are you okay?" Tom asks me with concern. How can he so easily detect my emotions like that?

"Yeah, I'm good. Let's go." I say and we begin to walk towards the mall entrance. Our hands gently bump into one another as we walk fairly close to eachother. I see some faces turn our way and I can feel my face start to turn red. I've never had anyone notice me before so this is something I'm gonna have to get used to. 

Tom turns his head to look at me and I'm sure worry is very apparent in my eyes. I don't like being the center of attention, so this is very uncomfortable for me. He suddenly takes my hand in his and our fingers intertwine together. The same spark that I felt when I shook his hand yesterday shoots through my body. 

I turn to look at Tom and he just looks like he has no care in the world. Wow he's good at just going on with daily life without noticing all the faces turned his way. I need to learn to do the same I guess.

We approach the map of the mall and stop in front of it. Tom removes his hand from mine to point at the map and I'm kind of sad he removed it.

"Where would you like to shop?" Tom politely asks me.

I look at the map and begin to think. "I remember my mom used to take me to Dillard's a lot." I say as I remember the distant memories of my mom actually spending time with me. Every week or so she would take me on a "special day" and we would go shopping. We would then end the day with getting some yummy ice cream. I would always get mint chocolate chip ice cream with marshmallows on top. She would get two scoops of cookie dough. 

"Alright, we can go there." Tom says and starts looking at the map again. "We're here, so we need to walk straight a little, make a right, then go up the escalator." He says as he traces the map with his eyes. I nod my head okay and he grabs my hand again. 

I may not be used to being the center of attention, but I could definitely get used to the feeling of my hand in his.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm hungry. Wanna go to the food court after this?" Tom asks me as I grab more clothes from the rack. I feel really bad that Tom has to waste his money on me, but he is right. I don't have very many clothes and I can't wear the same nice outfit every time I go out into public with him. I don't want to embarrass him by wearing sweatpants most of the time and that's basically all I own at the moment.

"Sure." I say in response. I'm starting to get hungry too. "I have a question. Do you ever like dread going out to public places? Or does the attention not bother you? Because there have been so many people today looking at you." I ask him.

"I do prefer just hanging out with my family in more private places, but I can't just hide from the public forever, ya know? So I guess I've just taught myself to not let the stares bother me. I'm just a normal person and I like to be treated like one. I don't believe in celebrities being above anybody else. But if a fan does come up to me wanting a picture or an autograph, then I'll definitely give them one. They support my career and it means the world to me. The least I can do is be kind to them in return." Tom says and I'm sure my mouth is hung open in amazement. Tom notices my shock to his answer and laughs. "What?"

"You just seem like a really down to earth and humble person. No offense, but I would never have guessed that about you or any celebrity for that matter."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you this whole time, Ellery. I'm not helping you because I pity you or think that you can't handle yourself. I'm helping because I want you to have the same opportunities and doors opened to you as other people might have. Your mum just wants the best for you and believes this is it. I do too," Tom explains and I just nod my head. He's right. It's not like I would've found love anyways, so I might as well just accept this arranged marriage. Tom really is just trying to help with good intentions. 

"Elle." I say in response.

"What?" He asks.

"You can call me Elle," I say and he gives me a smile. We may not be very close friends yet, but we're getting there. 

"So Elle, are you going to give me a fashion show with all these clothes?" Tom asks and I laugh. 

"Sure." I say with a grin and we walk over to the dressing rooms. Tom hands me the clothes he was holding for me and I take them all back into a dressing room while he sits outside of it. 

First, I try on this light pink sundress that caught my eye from the very beginning. I love dresses, but I only have one. I could use a couple more! After slipping it on, I walk out to show Tom.

"Woah." Tom says and stares at me up and down. "You look great!" 

I feel my cheeks start to heat up and I give him a twirl. "Thank you!" I say and walk back into the dressing room. After trying on a few more pieces of clothing, I walk back out to show Tom another outfit. I walk out to find his chair empty. 

I stand there a little confused before turning to see Tom walking my way. He has some sort of purple clothing in his arms. "Look! I found us matching pajamas!" Tom says cheerfully and holds up two matching purple silk pajama sets. 

"Are you serious?" I say with a laugh and reach out my hand to feel the silk. Well, it is pretty soft. But I'm not a huge fan of the bright purple. 

"A lady who works here came up to me because she noticed we were together. Then she told me to check out their matching couple pajama sets so I said okay!" Tom explains and I just laugh some more.

"Are we supposed to try these on?" I ask and he nods. He hands me mine and we split off into different dressing rooms. I slip on the pants and button up the top. I open my door and walk out to see Tom looking at me in the same exact outfit. We both burst out laughing at the same time and my stomach starts to hurt with every laugh I let out.

"Aw look at us." I say and wipe a tear from my eye. 

"I think we've found our first couple outfit." Tom says with a wink.

"I think we've found matching clown costumes." I say and Tom laughs. "Do you really want to get these?" I ask.

"Of course! Can you feel how soft they are? And we both look hot," Tom says while feeling his sleeve. I can feel my cheeks start to heat up again. Did he just call me hot?

Well, I guess we're getting them. They are pretty soft! And it's not like anyone will see me in my pajamas at night, except for Tom. Oof that's weird.

—————

"Have a gander." Tom says as we approach the food court and I stop in my footsteps as I look at him confused. He noticed my confusion and laughs. "It means look around. Like tell me where you want to eat."

"Oh," I say stupidly and look around like instructed. I need to get used to his British accent. "Chick-fil-A!" I immediately shout as we approach the food court and I can hear Chick-fil-A calling my name from the distance. 

We start walking towards the line, but are stopped by three teenage girls who have suddenly surrounded us. "Oh my gosh are you Tom Holland??" The tall girl asks Tom in a fast manner.

"Yeah, I am. It's nice to meet you." Tom says politely and gives them a soft smile. He places his hand on the small of my back as he begins the conversation with them. 

"Can we have a picture?" Another girl from the group shouts and Tom nods his head. She surprisingly flips her camera on and hands me her phone to take the picture. They all gather around Tom with their arms wrapped around him. Tom gives me an apologetic smile as I snap the picture and hand the phone back to the girl.

"Thank you!" She says to me and flashes a smile.

"Of course." I respond.

"Are you his girlfriend?" The third girl asks me and I can feel my face heating up for the third time today. I freeze in my spot and my eyes go big.

"Uh," I start to say but my mouth goes dry.

"Yeah, she is. Isn't she beautiful?" Tom responds for me and his comment leaves me even more stunned.

"Yes she is!" All the girls agree in unison. They ask for a picture with me as well and we snap a quick one. That was weird! They all give Tom one last hug before walking away. 

"Thanks for saving me. Sorry I froze," I say to Tom as we enter the Chick-fil-A line. 

"It's alright," Tom says and grabs his wallet from his back pocket.

"I need a few lessons on this whole being noticed thing." I tell Tom and he grins.

"We'll start off with how to hold a conversation." He says jokingly and I laugh even though he's right. I'm not very good at speaking to people. "All jokes aside, if you ever don't feel comfortable talking, then just let me know. I got you."

I don't even know why I'm worried about this whole arrangement. He's got me.


	7. Chapter 7

"You know, those three girls are the first to know that we're "dating". I wonder how long it'll take for the whole public to know," I tell Tom curiously as we get back into his car after a successful few hours of shopping. 

"Probably an hour." Tom says and we both laugh. "Seriously, though. These things spread pretty quickly, like wildfire. It's crazy."

"Well isn't that what you want? That is one of the big reasons we're getting married in the first place." I remind him.

"Yeah, I guess." He says but I can hear a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Maybe he's forced into this just like I am and doesn't really care about fame. From what he's told me, he seems to prefer the private life with his family and close friends. 

"So where are we headed?" I ask to change the subject.

"Back to the hotel that I'm staying at with my brother and dad. Don't worry, you'll have a separate room from us. You don't have to share a living space with three nasty boys."

"Well thank you, I appreciate that," I say with a giggle. 

"Tomorrow I have an interview with Jake Gyllenhaal and then in a few days I have an interview on Ellen in Los Angeles so we'll be driving down there soon. Next week is the red carpet movie premiere for Spiderman Far From Home." Tom explains his schedule to me.

"Wow, busy week." I say to him.

"Would you like to come with me tomorrow? I can introduce you to Jake." Tom asks.

"Who's Jake Gyllenhaal?" I ask.

"Only the best guy you'll ever meet!" Tom says happily as he continues to drive.

"Hm I don't know." I say unsure. Meeting another celebrity sounds intimidating to me. I'm not very good at meeting people. That was shown today with those three girls.

"Come on, it'll be fun! It's an interview with buzzfeed so I think it's one of their interviews with the puppies!" He says cheerfully. Puppies, huh? How could I pass up that offer.

"Fine, I'll come! But only because I have nothing better to do." Which I literally don't have any plans for the rest of my life whatsoever.

"Yay!" Tom says and cheers with his fist in the air. How is Tom so easy to talk to? He acts like we've known eachother for years.

—————

"Ellery, so nice to see you again!" Dominic, Tom's dad, says to me as he meets us outside to help me with my stuff. He goes in to awkwardly hug me as Tom takes my suitcase from my hand.

"Hi." Is all I say. I'm not sure I like this dude yet. He may be Tom's father, but he's one of the reasons I'm in this mess to begin with.

"How was the shopping?" Mr. Holland directs his question towards Tom since he can probably tell I'm not much of a talker.

"It was really fun actually! We bought Elle a lot of nice clothes that I think she'll look wonderful in." Tom explains to his father. Tom's father looks surprised that Tom just called me Elle and it makes me laugh on the inside. 

"Great! I'm glad you both had a fantastic day. Your room is waiting for you both on the 5th floor, room 518. I'll be up in a minute, gotta make sure our room services will be paid for." His dad says before walking away to the front desk and we continue towards the elevator. They don't have to pay for room service?

This is one of the nicest hotels I've ever seen. A crystal chandelier dangles above our heads in the center of the lobby, beautiful paintings of nature line the walls, and the huge windows toward the back show a great view of the city.

Tom sees me admiring everything and smiles. "It's a bit much, huh?" He says.

"A little, but I actually don't mind it! My city looks so beautiful out those clear windows." I say as I point towards the back. The sun is starting to set so it puts the perfect glow on San Francisco. 

"It is beautiful." Tom agrees as he looks at me and I smile. Tom looks at my left cheek and smiles.

"What?" I ask.

"You only have one dimple. That's adorable," he says and I blush. "You sure do blush easily." Tom notices and I laugh.

"You're very observant, aren't you?" I say and he nods.

We finally head up the elevator to the fifth floor and approach our door. "I guess we're sharing a room, I'm sorry," Tom says awkwardly as he unlocks the door.

He opens the door to reveal one king size bed in the middle of the large room. Tom stares intensely at the bed as he realizes we'll have to share it.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to my dad and see if I can continue to stay with him so you can have this room." Tom reassures me and I nod my head okay. There is no way I'm sharing a bed with Tom!

—————

Tom left about half an hour ago to talk to his dad about our current living situation in this hotel and I think to ask where we will be ordering some dinner. I decided to shower before going out because I feel gross after trying on all those mall clothes. Don't know where those have been or who they've been on! 

I turn off the shower and wrap the tan hotel towel around my body before walking over to the bathroom counter. I grab my hairbrush and start brushing through my long, wet hair. I place my hairbrush down to grab my clothes, but notice something. Oh no! My clothes are in the room. Maybe he's not back yet? I never heard him come back into the hotel room. I crack open the door and poke my head out to see an empty room. "Hello?" I fall out and get no response. Good, he's not back yet!

I close the door and squeeze my dripping hair with my towel one last time before opening the door again and stepping out. Right as I step out the door, ready to rush to grab my clothes and not expecting anyone, my wet body smacks against a shirtless Tom and we both fall onto the floor, me on top. "Oh my gosh!" We both shout at the same time while we look into each others eyes with horror, realizing what just happened. I climb off of Tom, scrambling to keep my towel around my body. I try to tightly grasp my towel to keep it from falling, but because I'm clumsy, of course I have to trip over the bedside table and fall flat on my ass. Speaking of, the towel rides up, completely revealing my butt! "Don't look!" I shout at Tom and he quickly turns around.

"I'm not I promise!" Tom says with his face to the wall. "I'm so sorry!" Tom apologizes as I quickly scramble back to the bathroom with my clothes in hand and shut the door. Did that just happen?? Oh my goodness!

I quickly get changed and blow dry my hair a little. I'm so embarrassed, so I take my time getting ready.


	8. Chapter 8

I finally gather up the courage to leave the bathroom and go back into the room to see Tom. "Why on earth is your shirt still off?" I say to Tom and try not to stare at his chest. 

"Cause it's hot in here," he simply states.

"That was honestly so embarrassing. Sorry about that," I admit to him with an awkward laugh.

"That's alright." He says and then starts to grin. "That's not how I imagined seeing you naked for the first time would go." Tom says and my face goes bright red. He's thought about that?

"You're insane!" Is all I say and cover my face with my hands. "I thought I told you not to look!" 

"It was kind of hard not to!" Tom honestly says while laughing. I roll my eyes and start to laugh with him.

He walks over to his suitcase and pulls out a shirt.  
"So I take it we're sharing a room?" I ask him when I realize his stuff is in here.

"Yeah, I really am sorry about that. My dad wants us to experience some "bonding time", whatever that means," he says.

"Oh." Is all I say. Bonding time? We're not five year olds. 

"Don't worry, you can have the bed. I'm gonna sleep on the couch." Tom says and I already notice a blanket sitting on the couch all ready for him. 

"Are you sure? You can have the bed if you want," I offer to him. I feel bad he's doing that for me, but I'm definitely not allowing us sleeping next to one another to be an option.

"No, really, it's alright. I'm honestly fine with sleeping on the couch. Besides, I'm absolutely knackered. I could sleep on a pile of bricks and still fall sound asleep!" Tom says to me and I laugh at his response.

"Fine." I finally give in and set some of my stuff on the big bed. "So what's for dinner?" 

—————

"You ready to go, love?" Tom asks me as I finish doing my hair. We're about to leave for his buzzfeed interview with Jake Gyllenhaal. I'm really nervous to be meeting another celebrity, so I'm trying to look my best. I'm wearing one of the new outfits Tom bought me yesterday. It's kind of a low cut white bodysuit with a red checkered skirt. 

"Don't call me that," I say to him sternly. I'm not his "love".

"I'm just trying to be polite." He says defensively. He then looks at me up and down. "You look really pretty." 

"Thank you." I say and start blushing once again. Tom grins as he notices. "I don't get it."

"Don't get what?" 

"How you can be so comfortable around people. We've barely known each other for 24 hours yet you can easily make conversation and act like you've known me forever." I explain to him. I'm such a shy person and it takes me awhile to get used to being around someone. Especially after my dad died, it's been hard to let new people into my life. I'm afraid of losing them because from experience, that can happen easily. 

"I don't know. I guess I just like getting to know people and am not afraid of what they think about me." Tom explains. 

"That makes sense." I say with a shrug and grab my purse. "I guess I just can't relate. I'm not very good at making friends." I add with a frown.

"Well you won me over." Tom says and causes me to smile.

"Yeah, by screaming at you." I say and we both laugh. We go down to the lobby and see Tom's dad with his brother, Harry. 

Tom yawns and Harry grins at him. "Didn't get much sleep, did we?" Harry says with a sneaky smile.

"Shut up, mate!" Tom says and punches his brother's arm. I laugh as we walk outside towards the car. Mr. Holland and Harry sit in the front seat while I ride in the back with Tom. It's awfully tight back here.

We drive for a bit and Harry just told us we're almost there after looking at his gps.

"No dad, you're supposed to turn here!" Harry shouts as he points to the right.

"Oh hold on tight!" Mr. Holland informs us as he jerks his steering wheel to the right and turns sharply at too high of speed. All of a sudden, my body is flung to the right and I feel a hand hit my thigh. I look to my left to see that Tom has shifted toward me and he looks stunned to see where his hand is placed.

"I- I didn't mean to do that." Tom says in attempt to explain himself. "I was just trying to stop myself! My bad!"

"Don't worry about it." I say shyly and watch as Tom quickly shifts back over in his seat. Today has been very awkward so far.

We finally arrive and get out of the car. I see Harry whisper something to Tom and Tom rolls his eyes in response as Harry laughs. Are they talking about me?

I guess Tom's dad isn't coming with us considering he just drove off in the car. Tom hangs back and walks beside me as Harry walks a little ahead of us. "Why isn't your dad coming?" I ask Tom.

"He's got a lot of calls to make so he's headed back to the hotel." Tom explains and I nod my head. I'm really nervous for some reason. I'm obviously not the one doing an interview, but something about meeting another famous actor makes my stomach turn. "Are you alright?"

I shake my head no and Tom raises an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" He asks me.

"Like I told you, I'm not very good at talking to people." I tell him and he immediately understands.

"There's not usually many people at these things. The crew minds their own business and it's really just the interviewer in the room. And Jake is the funniest guy you'll ever meet! Don't worry about it, I'll be with you the whole time." Something about Tom's words really does make me a little less worried. He is obviously comfortable with talking to people and he can tell I'm not, so it'll be all okay.

We walk inside the building and I look to my left to see a purple background set up. I've seen these buzzfeed interviews with the puppies before. The celebrities always sit on the floor and play with puppies while they answer questions. It's adorable!

I see a man standing far in front of us with thick, dark hair and broad shoulders. That must be Jake. He turns around and literally has the biggest brown eyes I've ever seen. He smiles as he sees Tom approaching. As we walk closer to Jake, Tom takes my hand in his. I don't know if it's because he knows I'm nervous or if it's just for show. No one can know this relationship is fake, not even Jake, one of his close friends.

"Hello mate!" Tom says at the same time Jake says "Thomas!" They give each other a big hug and pat each other's backs. Once they release from the hug, Jake turns to me and I smile.

"And you must be the beautiful mystery girl I read about in the news this morning." Jake says with a smile and goes in for a hug. I awkwardly hug him back with a laugh. I'm in the news already? Oh no.

"That's me!" I say shyly. "I'm Ellery, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm Jake, Tom's hot costar." Jake says and looks at Tom with a grin.

"You're not wrong." Tom says to Jake and they both laugh. I join in on the laughter. Jake seems super nice!

"Why haven't you told me about her?" Jake asks Tom questioningly. Tom looks at me and I can tell he's trying to think of a quick answer.

"We just wanted to keep our relationship quiet for awhile. That way the press wouldn't bug us." Tom replies.

"That makes sense. The media can be crazy! It's best to stay out of it as much as possible." Jake says. That's funny considering one of the reasons we're having this arranged marriage is to get Tom into the news more. "How long have you two been dating?" Jake turns to me this time and asks. No no no. Don't ask me any questions! I look at Tom with a worried look in my eye and he catches on. I'm not good at thinking quick on my feet!

"Almost 4 months now. We met at a St. Patty's day party at a pub. Elle was over in London with her mum for spring break." Tom explains an elaborate story and I stand there amazed. How did he just come up with that?

"Awesome! Well I'm excited to get to know you more." Jake says to me and I smile. He's so sweet, Tom was right. Someone calls over Jake and Tom to begin the interview. 

"I'll be right back, love." Tom says to me before squeezing my hand and walking away with Jake. I'd be swooned right now if I didn't know this whole relationship is just an act. Maybe one day it'll be something more. Something real. But right now, Tom is just saving me from poverty and I'm helping his career. It's just an agreement and nothing more.

I stand there and make small talk with Harry as they talk with someone from Buzzfeed who looks official. After a few moments, Tom walks in front of the cameras on the purple set up and sits down. Jake walks over to us.

"They're interviewing us separately." Jake informs us and we all turn to look at Tom. They bring out a few pit bull puppies and set them next to Tom. They all start wrestling and playing around him. One of the puppies climbs into his lap and tries licking his face. Tom begins to laugh and cuddle the puppy.  
My heart is completely melting right now.

Tom answers a few questions about his new film, Spiderman: Far From Home, and how it was working with the whole cast. He also answers some fun and random questions. 

"Whats something Americans do that you think is extremely weird?" The interviewer asks and Tom laughs as he holds a squirming puppy.

"Twinkies are pretty weird. I tried my first Twinkie the other day and it was disgusting and I will never eat one ever again." Tom says and I can't help but quietly laugh at his response. He is right, Twinkie's are horrible. 

"Who's this mystery girl?" They ask another question and hold up a photo. I can barely make it out but it looks like a photo of Tom and I with the 3 girls we met yesterday at the mall. They must've posted it and the media got ahold of it. Well Tom was right, news does spread pretty fast. There's no backing out of this deal now.

"She's only the most beautiful and sweetest girl you'll ever meet." His answer is sweet and short. He glances over to me and smiles and I can't help but smile back as we make eye contact. I really appreciate Tom not saying my name on camera. I want my name out of those headlines as much as possible. He also didn't officially state we're dating, but that's fine by me.

Jake leans over to me and whispers in my ear. "That boy is head over heels for you." He says and I giggle.

"Why do you say that?" I ask curiously.

"Did you not see how he just smiled at you? The love was apparent in his eyes when he looked at you." Jake explains quietly and I grin to myself. My stomach fills with butterflies and it's not because I'm nervous this time.


	9. Chapter 9

"That was the cutest thing I've ever seen." I tell Tom once we're back in our hotel room. After the interview, we went through a drive through and decided to head back to the hotel for the evening. Tom grins and I decide to correct myself. "I'm referring to the puppies, not you, so you can wipe that smug look off your face." I say with a laugh.

"Did you know I have a pit bull back home?" Tom asks me and I shake my head no. "Her name is Tessa. She's a darling!" He says and I smile at his comment. At least he's a dog person.

"I've never had a dog before. My dad was always allergic and then, well..." I start to trail off my sentence. It's obvious that I didn't get a dog after he passed away because my mom and I could barely support ourselves. No way could we have taken care of an animal as well.

"Well, she would technically be yours now too." Tom tells me with a shrug. I guess that's true. 

"Then I can't wait to meet her!" I respond and take my shoes off by the bed. I sit down on the white comforter and sit with my legs crossed. "What do you wanna do?" I ask and Tom wiggles his eyebrows. "Stop!" I tell him sternly and we both start laughing.

"I'd like to get to know you better, so we could just keep talking." Tom suggests and I nod my head okay.   
"Okay, I'll ask a question first. What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?" 

"No I refuse to answer that! That's way too personal of a question." I say sarcastically and cross my arms like I'm mad. Tom laughs and I decide to answer. "Ummm I love all ice cream. Why'd you ask such a hard question?"

"Surely there's one flavor that's above all the others!" Tom says with another laugh.

"Okay I'll chooseeee Cookies and Cream!" I decide.

"That's a good one!" He says enthusiastically. 

"My turn! Why did you possibly want to become an actor?" I ask him.

"Well when I was 12, I did a production in London called Billy Elliot and I just loved being on stage. After that, my parents got me into acting classes." He explains. 

"I've heard of that musical! Isn't that about a boy who likes ballet?" I ask him and he nods his head yes. "You dance?" 

"Oh good, you don't know! Maybe this means you haven't seen my lip sync battle," Tom says nervously. 

"Your what?" I ask confused. 

"Nooo way am I showing you!" Tom says and I can tell he's embarrassed.

"You know I have a phone, right?" I ask and quickly grab my phone out of my pocket. I pull up google and start typing "Tom Holland lip-" until suddenly my phone is ripped from my grip. "Hey!" I say and try to take my phone back but Tom holds his arm straight up in the air, over his head. "That's no fair! I'm short!"

Tom laughs at my comment and I grab his arm in attempt to pull it down so I can reach my phone. When I realize that strategy is unsuccessful, I jump and stand on top of the bed. Just as my fingers touch my phone, Tom yanks it away and I loose my balance. As I fall backwards onto the bed, I grab Tom's empty hand and pull him down with me. "Give it back!" I shout and reach across Tom.

"No way! I like the position we're in right now!" Tom says playfully and I smack his chest. We both start laughing and I sit up on the bed next to Tom.

"When you eventually give me my phone back, I will see the video! You're just delaying the inevitable." I tell him. "Why don't you want me to see? Did you dance horribly?"

"No, I'm actually quite a good dancer," Tom says with a laugh. "It's just, a lot of people know me by this video and it's getting old."

"I promise I won't judge too harshly!" I say to him as I cross my heart and he laughs.

"Fine! I'll give it back if you agree to one thing." Tom says to me. Great, another deal?

"What?" I ask questioningly.

"Will you go on a date with me?" Tom asks me and my entire body just suddenly goes still. I probably look stunned.

"You mean, like, a real one?" I ask confused, still unable to move.

"Yeah!" He explains himself but I still don't know if I believe him. Tom can sense my uneasiness. "Elle, I promise I'm not just asking because of this whole arrangement. I honestly want to take you out and get to know you better!"

I think for a few seconds and climb off the bed. I start pacing the room before Tom gets up and walks over to me. He grabs my hand and places my phone in it. "I know you said it's hard to let new people into your life, but just trust me."

I slowly nod my head okay and a huge, adorable smile forms on Tom's face. "Awesome!" He says and practically skips back over to the bed. "So, do you wanna watch a movie? You have to watch Spiderman Homecoming before we go see the next movie in a week!" He says happily and I smile.

"If there's nothing better to do," I say with a shrug and Tom acts offended as he opens his mouth in shock of my words. I walk over and sit on the bed next to him, but still keeping my distance. I place my phone on the bedside table next to me because if he doesn't want me to see the video, then I don't want to embarrass him like that. I'll just watch it later when he's not around.

I can't believe he just asked me out on an actual date... I mean, I guess it's better that we try to get along considering I'm stuck with him. 

Tom finds the movie on Amazon and rents it for us as I get changed into my pajamas. I can't watch a movie and be uncomfortable! I sit back down on the bed next to Tom and notice his shirt is off again. I'm not looking. I'm not looking. I'm not looking...

—————

I walk out of the bathroom after putting on one of my new, pink summer dresses that we bought the other day. Tom didn't want to tell me where we're going for our date, so I had to pick something versatile. It's not too fancy, but not too casual.

Tom is wearing a plain black t-shirt with jeans and dang he makes it look good. He looks at me with a smile. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." I say and can start to feel my cheeks heat up. 

"You ready?" He asks me and I nod my head. We walk out of the room and ride the elevator down to the lobby. As we approach the car, he opens the passenger side door for me and I climb in. He gets in as well and starts to drive.

"Can I know where we're going now? You aren't kidnapping me, are you?" I ask jokingly.

"Dang you've guessed it." He says sarcastically with a laugh. "You'll see." He says and I roll my eyes. We drive for a bit and make small conversation. I don't really know how this is different than the last few days when we've hung out. I guess his family is usually with us, so this is new. 

We approach a big white building that sits along the beach and the sign on top reads "Cliff House." 

"A friend of mine recommended this restaurant, so I thought we could try it." Tom says and parks the car.

"It looks fancy." I say. I'm used to eating fast food with my hands, not fancy sea food that probably costs a fortune.

Tom gets out of the car and opens my door for me. "Thank you." I say and he takes my hand as we walk inside the front door. This is the problem; I can't tell if he's holding my hand because we're on a date and that's what people do or if it's because we're in public and it's just for show. I'd like to think it's real.

"Holland." Tom says to the hostess as she asks who the reservation is under. She walks us to our small table near a giant window that has a perfect view of the beach and the crashing waves.

"This view is beautiful!" I say as I stare out the window in awe. I look over and catch Tom staring at me. "What?" I ask with a grin.

"Nothing." Tom says and smiles. "Would you like to order something to drink?" Tom asks me. 

"Oh I'm not legally allowed to drink yet." I say and Tom looks shocked.

"Really? When's your birthday?" Tom asks me. I guess we've never really discussed age, not like it matters.

"I'll be turning 21 on July 15." I say with a smile. I can't believe I'll be an adult in less than a month.

"Awesome! We can celebrate together!" Tom says cheerfully. Aw that's sweet! "I'm 23 by the way." He adds.

"Yeah I may or may not have looked that up after my mom revealed to me I'd be marrying you that one night." I say quietly so that no one hears and Tom laughs. 

"I guess you probably know more about me than I know about you." He says and kind of looks like that upsets him. 

"That's not true. I only looked up your age, I promise. I'd love to get to know the real you, not what the internet has written." I inform him and that seems to make him happy. I've never been obsessed with celebrities or anything, so I actually don't know much about Tom's background, besides what he's told me.

"Same to you. You're a nanny, right? What's that like?" Tom asks me and I can tell he's actually interested as he places his napkin in his lap and puts his focus on me. 

"It is definitely a job full of craziness, but it keeps the days interesting." I say with a laugh. "The kid's I nanny, Amelia and Dylan, are the sweetest little things. I'm sure gonna miss them." I say and can feel a little bit of sadness creep into my heart. I didn't even realize that now that I'm supposed to marry Tom, I'm not going to be a nanny anymore. I didn't even get to tell my kids goodbye. 

"You must hate me." Tom says in a serious tone.

"What? Why do you say that?" I ask with surprise. That was random.

"I'm basically taking you away from your life." Tom says to me. I guess that's true.

"No, you're saving me from a past, crappy chapter in my life. Now I get to start a new one with you." As the words come out of my mouth, I realize how cheesy that sounds and I laugh at myself. However, I did make Tom smile, which is good because I hate to see him down. "Trust me, I don't hate you."

"I appreciate that." Tom says and we just stare at eachother. Not like an awkward stare, but like a comfortable look that means we kind of understand one another. The waitress comes over and breaks us from our thoughts. 

"You thirsty?" She says to Tom as she looks him dead in the eye with a smirk. Is she trying to look sexy or something? It looks like she's trying not to throw up.

"Yeah, I'll have a water please." Tom answers her like he didn't even notice her flirting. He's probably used to it. 

"So what brought you here?" She continues to look at Tom, completely ignoring me. Is she not gonna take my drink order? I'm thirsty too!

"I'm on a date with my girlfriend." Tom tells her matter of factly. I guess he does know she's trying to flirt. He is also aware of how rude she's being, just as I am. "What would you like to drink, babe?" Tom looks at me in order to break conversation with the rude waitress.

"I'll have a Dr. Pepper, thanks." I say to her and she rolls her eyes as she walks away. "The service here is wonderful." I say to Tom sarcastically and he laughs out loud. 

"Sorry about that." Tom says and runs his fingers through his hair.

"It's not your fault your extremely attractive and every girl drools over you." The words slip out and I immediately want to take them back.

"Dang Elle, I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Tom says with a sneaky grin.

"I wanna take it back." I say and smack my palm to my forehead.

"No you can't, it's too late. You've already admitted your physical attraction toward me."

"What??" I say a little too loudly. "Boy you wish!" I say and we both start laughing.

"It's alright, you don't have to hide your feelings for me." 

"Hey, you're the one who asked ME on a date! Not the other way around!" I remind him and he acts like he's thinking about it.

"I won't deny that." He says as our drinks come and we order our meal. The rest of our dinner is filled with pleasant conversation and surprisingly, a lot more laughter. The food is really delicious and makes up for the horrible service we've gotten from our waitress all evening.


	10. Chapter 10

After dinner, Tom and I walk hand in hand down to the beach that the restaurant looks upon. The sun is starting to set and is creating the perfect glow across the waves crashing against shore. 

We both left our shoes up at the car so we could feel the soft sand and avoid getting it in our shoes. I begin to run towards the water and drag Tom behind me. Our feet touch the icy cold water and I jump. The pacific coast waters are never warm it seems.

"It's freezing!" I shout over the loud waves.

"No, you just gotta get used to it." Tom says as he bends over and splashes water toward me. It hits my side and gets my dress wet.

"Holland!" I shout and splash water toward him in revenge. We suddenly begin a splash war and within the first five seconds we're already soaked. I try to run from Tom as the air makes me colder, but he begins to chase after me. He comes up from behind me and respectfully wraps his arms around my waist. He picks me up and we spin around. He trips and we both plunge down into the cold water.

"Holy crap!" I shout as I pick my body up out of the water as quickly as possible. We both burst out into laughter at the event that just occurred.

"Sorry about that!" Tom says through his laughs as we begin to walk back to the dry sand. 

"No you're not." I say with a giggle and Tom shrugs as he agrees with me. We stop walking and I turn to look at the sun setting on the horizon. "What a night." I simply say and look at Tom.

He looks back at me and a soft smile forms on his face, but his eyes look thoughtful. I glance down at his lips and can feel the temptation to just lean in. It seems like he wants to as well as he doesn't break his stare.

Something catches my eye from off in the distance behind Tom. I break eye contact with his lips and glance behind him to see what looks like a camera pointing from the bushes.

"What is it?" He asks me concerned.

"Nothing." I say and form a smile on my face. I'm probably just imagining things. "I had an amazing time tonight. Thank you."

"I'm glad." Tom says quietly as he pushes a wet strand of hair from my face to behind my ear. He starts to lean in and I do the same as Tom puts his hand behind my head to guide me. Our lips hover for a moment before connecting for the very first time. It feels magical as our lips softly touch. We break apart and I smile at the pure moment we just had. It wasn't an aggressive kiss, but it was one that made me feel safe and that I can truly trust Tom. 

What if Tom knew there were cameras around? What if this was all for show, just like the hand holding? Why can't my anxiety just shut up for once?

—————

Last night was honestly the best night I've had in a long time, probably ever. It was also a great last night in my home city, San Francisco. I don't know when I'll be back to see these beautiful views I can only get here. We're now on our drive to LA for Tom's interview on Ellen tomorrow. We've been driving for a few hours now and I've gotten to hear a ton of stories about Tom's childhood from his brother, Harry, and his father. I've noticed that every time Tom gets embarrassed, he scrunches his nose and buries his head in his hands. It's adorable.

"We're here!" Dominic announces as we pull into another beautiful hotel. Tom puts on his sunglasses and we all get out of the car after his dad parks it. We all walk inside to reveal another grand lobby like our past hotel. They sure do like to travel nicely. 

His father checks us in at the front desk as we wait by the elevators. After a few moments, his dad walks over with two keys.

"This is for us." He says to Harry and hands him the key card. "And this is for you two." He says and hands Tom the other card.

"Don't forget to be safe." Harry whispers to both of us and I squint my eyes in disgust. Tom just rolls his eyes and pushes the elevator button. We all ride together up to the top floor and find our rooms. Tom swipes our card in the door and opens it to reveal a room with two beds.

"Finally!" I say and walk inside with my suitcase trailing behind me. Tom closes the door and runs toward a bed. He belly flops onto it and I laugh.

"Ow, it's so hard!" Tom says in pain as he sits up on the bed.

"That's what she said." I crack my favorite joke and Tom looks at me in surprise. I start to laugh at my own joke and collapse onto the couch.

"Dang, Elle! You're a dirty one, aren't you?" He questions and begins to laugh as well. He walks over and sits down next to me on the couch. "I like your sense of humor." He says nicely and laces our fingers together. 

"I'm glad." I giggle and Tom leans in and pecks my lips with his. I quickly kiss him back but then look at him intently as we pull apart.

"Is something wrong?" He asks and I can see concern in his eyes. How am I supposed to tell him how I feel? About how I feel like this thing forming between us isn't real just like how our arranged marriage isn't? 

"What if people find out we're fake?" I ask him in a worried whisper.

"We don't have to be." Tom says with a hopeful smile.

"Really? But I thought that's how it was supposed to be? Just an arrangement?" I ask him.

"Well yeah, that's what our parents wanted to begin with. But I really like you, Elle."

"I just don't get it," I say to him with a confused look. 

"What?" Tom asks. 

"You're Tom freaking Holland. You could have any girl you want," I tell him. 

"So?" Tom asks me.

"So I don't understand why you agreed to this whole arranged marriage thing."

"Elle you're awesome. I honestly wouldn't do this if it was with anyone else."

"You hadn't even met me before agreeing to do this," I remind him.

"True. However, I trust my dad. From the first moment I met you, I knew you were someone special and knew I'd end up falling for you, even if our parents didn't set this whole thing up." Tom tells me and I smile at his words.

"I guess I'm pretty lucky that I got stuck with someone as hot and sweet as you are." I admit to thinking he's hot and he smiles at my compliment. "I could've been stuck with someone like Timothée Chalamet."

"Hey! Don't disrespect my man like that!" Tom says and acts offended.

"Oh sorry, you're right. I guess he is pretty hot. Maybe I should ask my mom if I can marry him instead." I jokingly say and Tom looks upset.

"Will you just shut up and kiss me!" Tom aggressively says and I giggle.

Kiss him? I mean, yeah we kissed last night, but I thought that was just for the cameras. I thought it wasn't real. He beings to lean in and I do the same. Our lips touch a little more aggressively than they did the evening of our date, but I'm not complaining. Our lips move together in sync and I peck his lips before pulling away. He grins at me and it makes me just want to melt!

"I'm gonna go shower and then get ready for bed. You should do the same since you have that interview tomorrow!" I tell him and stand up from the couch. I begin to walk towards the bathroom door.

"Can I join you?" I hear Tom sneakily ask from behind me and I turn around with a laugh.

"In your dreams!" I respond before walking into the bathroom and closing the door.


	11. Chapter 11

"Everybody, please welcome your friendly neighborhood Spiderman, Tom Holland!" Ellen announces and the audience erupts in cheers and clapping. We are currently at Ellen's studio for Tom's interview and I even got a front row seat in the crowd! I've never been to a live show before, so this is pretty awesome. I told Tom I was fine with staying backstage, but he insisted I get the best seat in the house. He also said he wanted to be able to easily glance over at me if he got nervous, which I think is pretty sweet.

Tom walks out from behind a black curtain and waves to the crowd, showing off his perfect, pearly white smile. I can't believe I've actually kissed that boy. I can't believe I'm actually falling for him...

After the crowd dials down, Ellen asks Tom a few simple questions about his new movie and how it was working with the cast and crew on set. It sounds like he had an amazing time filming! I'm jealous he got to travel to so many cool places! Maybe one day we could travel together. I'd like that! I've never really been on a vacation before.

"Okay, so Tom. I like to think of us as friends and friends shouldn't keep secrets from each other, right?" Ellen says to Tom and he laughs.

"I completely agree." He responds to her comment.

"Perfect, we are on the same page! So I'm just going to rip the bandaid off and ask, is this a new flame of yours?" Ellen asks and suddenly there is a picture of me and Tom kissing on the beach. The picture only reveals Tom's side profile, but you can completely see my face. I can feel my cheeks start to heat up and I slowly sink back in my chair, failing to become invisible in my spot. Tom turns his head toward me and we make eye contact. Apparently, Ellen notices. "Ohhhh, so she's here with us tonight!" She announces and Tom just grins at me.

"Yes, actually, that is my girlfriend in that photo." He clarifies and Ellen claps her hands together in excitement.

"Tell me everything! What's her name? Where did you meet? How long have you guys been dating? I need details!" She says and it sounds like she's trying to write a gossip column in the newspaper. She seems very invested in our relationship. Well, I guess I can't hide in the shadows anymore.

"Her name is Ellery and we were actually brought together in a bar in London. She was visiting back in March and once I spotted this beautiful girl, I knew I had to buy her a drink." Tom tells her our made up story. It's a clever one, I think. Pretty believable, except for the fact that I'm not old enough to drink and I have no desire to drink before legal age, but nobody knows that, yet.

"Well it sounds to me like there should be a movie made about your blossoming romance." Ellen says and Tom laughs with a nod. "You've been together for nearly 4 months. How'd you keep her a secret for so long?" Ellen asks with curiosity.

"I like to keep some parts of my life private, like when I'm spending time with my family or seeing friends back at home, so it was pretty easy." Tom explains. 

"Well, Ellery sounds like a pretty special girl to you. We'd love to get to know her better, right everybody?" Ellen asks and looks to the crowd. The audience erupts into cheers and whistles again. Suddenly, I can feel a bunch of eyes turned towards me. Oh. No. It feels like a giant spotlight the size of the sun is shining on me.

"Aw, that's alright! She's not a huge fan of stuff like this." Tom explains for me and I mouth "thank you".

"Ah, okay. Maybe next time!" Ellen says and luckily, the topic changes off of me. I'm so glad she didn't ask me to come up on stage and explain more details about our relationship! Either way, the world now officially knows that Tom Holland is taken and that his girlfriends name is Ellery Price. News spreads so fast through the media, it's insane.

She continues to ask him a few more questions and finally, the interview finishes. Ellen thanks Tom for taking time out of his day to be here and he thanks her in return. They hug, he waves goodbye to the crowd, and then they walk backstage. After Ellen has left, the crowd starts to stand up to exit the giant room. I stand up as well and a few people come over to me.

"You were the girl in that picture, right?" They all ask me and I nod my head with a smile. "Can we get a picture?"

I take a picture with each of them and then, finally, escape backstage.

"Excuse me, can I get your autograph?" I hear a familiar voice come from behind me.

"Haha very funny." I say as I turn around and see Tom laughing. 

"How'd I do?" He asks curiously and walks closer to me. He takes both my hands in his and intertwines our fingers together.

"You did awesome. I don't know how you seem so chill out there." I tell him and he grins.

"Thanks! Maybe next time, you can be out there with me." Tom says with a wink and I sarcastically laugh.

"Yeah, right!" I say as I continue to laugh. He's got to be joking! No way in hell would I do an interview in front of a live audience and cameras!


	12. Chapter 12

"What is this?" I ask Tom as I walk out of the bathroom after just taking a shower. We got back from the Ellen interview about an hour ago and are already getting ready for bed. Tomorrow is the premiere of Spiderman Far From Home and I need my beauty sleep before walking the red carpet tomorrow! I never thought I'd be saying that...

"It's your dress for tomorrow!" Tom tells me with excitement. He walks over to me and wraps his arms around my waist from behind. 

"Oh my gosh! I love it!" I exclaim and turn around in his arms so that I can hug him back.

"Really?" He says and his eyes light up.

"Yes! That was very sweet of you, thank you." I tell him and wrap my arms around his neck. He hugs me back tightly and I can't help but smile as my head rests on his shoulder. I could stay in his arms forever.

We pull apart and I turn back around to get a better look at the dress. It's red with a velvet material and reaches all the way to the floor. It has one strap and the entire dress has a sort of sparkle to it that makes it absolutely stunning.

"I had the designer of my tux put together this dress for you so that we could compliment one another." He tells me. I can tell he put a lot of thought into this.

"Well please tell them I think it's beautiful!" I say and hold up the dress to myself while looking in the mirror. I can't wait to wear this dress! I've never worn something so elegant before. 

"You can tell them yourself tomorrow! They're sending a makeup team over to help us get ready." Tom says and it feels like my stomach got turned inside out. It's all of a sudden hitting me that I have to meet all of these celebrities tomorrow with flashing cameras everywhere.

"Tom, I don't know if I can do this. Your father should've picked someone who has confidence for you to marry, not me." I tell him honestly and sit onto the hotel bed with a shrug.

"Hey, don't say that! You're perfect the way you are and I'm happy I have you. You're going to look gorgeous on that red carpet tomorrow." He sits down next to me and places his hand on top of mine in comfort.

"Thanks." I say, still a little unsure.

"I won't be leaving your side, so don't worry about anything! It'll be so much fun! You're going to love the film," he says and I smile. I really am excited! I shouldn't let my fear get in the way of a fun night.

—————

"Your hair is SO gorgeous! I think I'm just gonna leave it all down with a nice curl. We gotta show off your beauty!" The hair stylist says to me and I laugh. My makeup is already done and I honestly love it. It's pretty subtle, but makes my eyes and cheekbones really pop! I wish I could do amazing makeup like this. Now we're in the process of doing my hair before I get dressed. Tom is already ready considering he's a boy and doesn't need to be all glammed up! He's already perfect as it is. He's currently getting dressed in the other room.

As the nice lady puts more curls in my hair, Tom walks out in his deep red suit and a pair of glasses. My jaw drops open a little at how good he looks. "Wow, you look hot." I simply say to Tom and he snickers at my comment. Tom looks amazing in those glasses!

"Thanks, love!" He says. I'm still not used to him calling me these couple names. It's more reassuring though now that I know they're real and not just a fake upfront for the public. "You are literally the most beautiful person I've ever seen. I can't wait to see you in that dress!"

"Awe thank you!" I say and my face lights up with happiness. I think I'm finally starting to get used to this whole arrangement. I'm already much happier than I was before all this. I think I was just afraid of leaving the life I knew and branching out into something totally different. But now, I'm glad I left that toxic life with my mom. I don't have to worry about if I can eat a meal tomorrow or if I'll be able to pay rent anymore.

—————

Tom squeezes my hand in comfort as our limo arrives at the premiere in front of the El Capital theater. Camera crews and interviewers are set up everywhere, the red carpet is rolled out, and a bunch of Spiderman backboards are set up everywhere. Here we go.

Tom gets out of the limo first and I can already hear a bunch of cheers from the crowd outside. Deep breaths, Ellery! It'll be okay!

Tom walks around and opens my door for me. He takes my hand and helps me step out so that I don't trip over my dress. That would be embarrassing! "You look beautiful," he leans in and whispers in my ear. 

"So do you," I whisper back and we both laugh. I kiss his cheek as he remains leaned in and we smile as we make eye contact. This was a special moment I'll never forget. We finally leave our own personal bubble and begin to walk into reality. A bunch of cameras are facing toward us as someone leads us through the crowd. Tom stops to sign some autographs and take some selfies. Like promised, he never leaves my side and we hold hands the entire way. A lot of people ask for me to be in their selfies too and it actually makes my heart warm up. It seems like they like me!

After we walk away from the overwhelming crowd, a girl that I recognize as Zendaya walks over to us. "Z, how are you?" Tom asks as he opens his arms up and they hug. She has a huge smile on her face and is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen! I can't hear her response to him over all the noise, but then she turns to me. 

"Ellery! It's so nice to finally meet you!" Zendaya says to me in a friendly tone and we hug eachother. She is so sweet!

"Same to you! You look absolutely stunning!" I compliment her and she blushes.

"Aw thank you! So do you!" I can't believe Zendaya actually just complimented me! I'm fangirling and I barely know anything about her, this is weird! "I wish Tom didn't keep you a secret from me for so long! I would've loved to meet you sooner, but I can already tell we're going to be great friends!" She says and I smile at her comment. Jake walks over and joins us. He gives all of us a friendly hug and really makes me feel part of the group. This is so awesome! It seems like this cast is such a great family and Tom is so lucky that he's gotten to work with them! I'm excited to talk to them more when we have time.

After a few minutes of standing around and talking to one another, we are led to the red carpet and Tom goes out first for his pictures. I hang back with Zendaya, since he needs pictures by himself, which is fine because I'm already so comfortable around Zendaya. She is so welcoming!

Tom waves me over and I slowly walk over to him in fear that I'll trip over my dress in these high heels. He reaches out his hand for me and I grab it as he pulls me closer. We both smile and face all the cameras as people call out our names. He wraps his arm around me and gently sets his hand on my waste. He makes me feel so safe! After all of these individual pictures, the whole cast takes some pictures together and they even let me in a few of them. Tonight has been so fun so far!

Finally, we walk into the theater and get seated for the movie to start! I sit in between Tom and Zendaya and we are all handed a bucket of popcorn. Tom continues to hold my hand as we shove popcorn into our mouths and the movie begins. The movie opens up in Mexico and Jake Gyllenhaal pops up onto the screen. Wow! He looks awesome as Mysterio! Tom explained a little of the plot to me before we came so that I wouldn't be completely confused. I'm still new to this whole Marvel universe! 

Right when Tom pops up on the screen as Spiderman, I'm left in awe! He is an amazing actor and looks so good on the big screen. I'm so proud of him! No wonder he's famous, he's so talented!

We laugh all through out the movie and I even want to cry a little when Peter talks about seeing Tony's face everywhere he goes. Peter misses Tony so much and it just makes my heart break. I really feel like I'm being pulled into the movie right now!

The movie ends with the biggest cliff hanger I've ever seen as Peter Parker's identity is revealed. I am left in shock as the credits finish rolling and I anxiously turn to Tom. "What! That's how it ends? What happens next??" I say with worry and Tom laughs at how into it I am.

"You're just going to have to wait and see like everyone else!" He says and I sigh in defeat. He leans in and whispers in my ear, "plus, I don't actually know what happens next either." I laugh at his comment.


	13. Chapter 13

"That was so awesome!" I tell Tom as we lay in bed next to one another and the credits roll after the Iron Man movie ends. The movie premiere was so much fun and I absolutely loved the new movie. Tom and I have decided to watch all of the Marvel movies in order since I haven't seen any of them, besides the Spiderman movies he's shown me. I'm so excited!

We just watched the first Iron Man movie and let me just say that Robert Downey Jr. is the perfect Tony Stark! Tom has told me a little about their friendship and I just love it. I hope I can meet him one day!

"I'm so glad you liked it, love." Tom says and squeezes my hand that is laying in his. 

"Can we watch another one pleaseeee?" I beg Tom just as he shuts the tv off.

"But it's so late!" He whines and shows me the clock on his phone. It is nearing midnight already so I guess it is kind of late.

"Well do we have to wake up early tomorrow?" I ask him curiously. I really have just been following him around ever since we met. He lives a busy life and it's not like I have plans anymore.

"Not really. We are actually hopping on a plane tomorrow afternoon, though." He informs me. A plane?

"Oh where are we going now?"

"Back home to London." He says and my jaw drops slightly open.

"London? I mean, I knew you lived there but it hasn't really hit me yet that I'm going to be living there now." I tell him in slight shock. "We're already going?"

"I'm sorry, I should've given you a heads up. I'm on a bit of a break right now from work before I start filming my next project, so I figured we could go home and I could show you around where I'm from." He tells me and I smile at his comment. 

"I would love that. Where do you live?" I say sincerely. 

"Don't freak out, but I currently live in a house with Harry and my best friend, Harrison. We can share my room, but I promise we can start house hunting right away so we can get our own place!" Tom explains the situation to me in fear that I'll freak out about living with two other boys. I just laugh at his response.

"It's fine Tom, I promise! I've never lived with three boys before." I tell him with a wink and he laughs. "House searching sounds fun!" 

"I can't wait to live with you." Tom tells me with a soft grin and pecks my lips with his. I guess when we live together we're gonna have to share one bed. So far, he's either slept on the couch or we've slept in separate beds since this hotel has two. 

"Same here." I tell him and ours lips collide together again. I lean forward a little, placing my hand on top of his leg. Tom lifts his hand and places it softly on my cheek to bring our lips in closer contact. I can already feel his tongue grazing my bottom lip. Our kisses become rough as he begins to trail down my jaw to my neck. I let out a soft noise that I guess was supposed to be a moan, but instead came out as the ugliest noise I've ever heard. 

We both laugh and Tom lifts his head up to make eye contact with me. "I really like you." He tells me and I smile at his words. I've never felt more content. It feels like butterflies are swarming in my stomach. It is a bit frightening, but pleasing at the same time. 

Tom tucks himself behind me, wrapping his arms around me. I hesitate for a moment, but then allow myself to sink down to rest my head on his shoulder. This feels amazing. It feels amazing to have someone hold you like this. To have Tom hold me like this. 

—————

"Tom, you're back!" I say as I pause the tv and jump up from the couch. Tom walks into our hotel room and aggressively closes the door behind him. I walk over and begin to wrap my arms around him, but he suddenly grabs my wrists and pushes me away. My facial expression fills with hurt and I stare into his angry eyes. I don't like seeing him like this. It's scary. "Babe, is something wrong?" I ask him, my voice a bit shaky.

"Don't call me that." He says and walks over to the couch. He throws himself down and starts playing the tv. 

"I'm confused." I tell him and hesitantly sit down next to him. "I thought we were finally starting to get along. Especially after what happened last night." I explain.

"Last night? You honestly think that meant something? You're so fucking stupid." Tom emphasizes the last word and it feels like my heart is slowly being torn apart.

"Did I do something?" I ask as tears well up in my eyes. 

"Thanks to you, my life is ruined. Did you really think I could ever like you? Let alone LOVE you? My dad was so wrong for sticking me with you. Now that the world knows about us, I've never been more embarrassed." Tom says, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Where is this coming from?" I ask and finally let some tears fall down my cheeks. 

"Stop acting all innocent, Ellery. Just face it! I deserve the best and you are most certainly not it." He says and finally looks into my eyes. All I see is emptiness and anger. I just don't understand! 

"This doesn't make any sense! Is this a prank or something? Because it isn't funny!"

"Would you just shut up and realize I don't want to be with you!" Tom shouts in my face and raises his hand up like he's about to hit me. I jump up off the couch before he has the chance and run into the bathroom crying, locking the door as soon as possible. I collapse onto the cold, tile floor and cry uncontrollably. I slam my eyes shut and rock back and forth in attempt to comfort myself. 

The shaking becomes more intense and I can hear faint shouting in the distance. It becomes louder and louder until it feels like someone is screaming in my ear.

"Love, wake up! Elle!" I hear a familiar voice say as the shaking increases. "Wake up!"

My eyes shoot open and I see Tom hovering over me. The light coming from the lamp illuminates the worried look on his face. "It was just a dream!" He tells me as I sit up in bed. I'm breathing very heavily and can feel the sweat dripping down my face. It was just a dream? Thank goodness!

"Oh Tom! It felt so real!" I tell him and throw my arms around him. I lay my cheek on his shoulder and continue to cry. 

"It wasn't real, I promise. I'm here." Tom comforts me and I begin to feel a little better. I don't know what I would've down if that dream was real life. I've never felt such confusion before. I couldn't imagine losing Tom now. Not after I've developed feelings for him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know." I lean back against the headrest and shrug. Tom slowly rubs my bare leg and I know I can trust him. "It was about you and me. You had just gotten back to the hotel from somewhere and suddenly just had such hatred toward me. Everything you were saying broke my heart." I sadly explain as the details creep into my head.

"I could never feel that way toward you, Elle. You mean so much to me!" He reassures me and I nod, knowing what he says is true.

"I know." I say and force a smile. I really do believe him. He would never do anything to purposely hurt me.


	14. Chapter 14

"I feel like I'm forgetting something! It's not like I have much stuff, but I've never travelled before." I tell Tom as we sit in our first class seats, waiting for the airplane to take off. 

"That's a normal feeling to have. I always feel like I'm forgetting something and most of the time I have." Tom amuses me and I laugh. "Are you scared to fly since you haven't before?"

"Not really! One time, my dad drove me to Disneyland and we spent a whole day there together. I absolutely loved riding all of the rollercoasters! So I've never really been afraid of stuff like this." I inform Tom.

"Oh so you're a thrill seeker? I learn something new about you everyday!" Tom tells me and I smile. I've never thought of myself as a thrill seeker, but I guess I am one. I've never had the chance to do anything too crazy, but if I had the opportunity to sky dive or parasail, then I would.

"Oh yeah? What's something new you learned about me yesterday?" I ask Tom.

"That you secretly like romance stuff." Tom tells me and I raise my eyebrow with a questioning look. "Every time Tony would even look at Pepper in Iron Man you would blush and get all smiley." He tells me and I begin to start blushing. Welp, he caught me.

"Dang you're good!" I tell him and roll my eyes.

"What's something you've learned about me?" Tom asks me and I begin to think. A lot, actually!

"That you're a homebody and love your dog more than anything else." I tell him and he laughs.

"How'd you figure that out?"

"All morning you've been looking at pictures of Tessa on your phone! I can tell you're excited to go back home and see her." I tell him with a smile. I think it's cute how much he loves his dog. She's his baby! I can't wait to meet her. I hope she likes me!

"You're very observant." Tom says.

"Yeah, I am. I also noticed how all of the girls asking for your picture and autograph through the airport couldn't keep their eyes off your arms." 

"Aw is somebody jealous?" He says and I shove his shoulder. 

"Jealous of what? I'm the one who has you." I tell him and squeeze his arm. The amount of muscle this boy has is insane. I understand why girls can't keep their eyes off of him. 

"You're right. This is all yours," Tom says in response and flexes his bicep. I laugh and grab his hand in mine so he can put his arm down and not draw wandering eyes. I already have enough attention with this boy.

—————

I lean to the side and glance toward the airplane bathroom door. Tom has been in there for the past twenty minutes. Is he okay? Should I go check on him?

I pick up a grape from my food tray and pop it in my mouth as I unbuckle my seatbelt. I glide the blanket off of me and stand up. Once I get to the bathroom door, I lean my ear against the door to see if I hear anything. Maybe he's sick?

Suddenly, I hear the most awful noises I've ever heard. I don't know how to describe it except for moaning sounds. What the hell. 

I lightly bang my hand on the door and the sounds on the other side of it go silent. What the fuck is he doing in there? 

"Tom! Are you alright?" I ask with concern but am afraid of what I'll see when that door opens.

All my fears come true when the door opens and a skinny blonde walks out of the restroom. She grins at me and walks by with confidence. I look inside the tiny restroom to see Tom quickly buttoning up his shirt and trying to fix his ruffled hair at the same time. Does he really think that'll hide what just happened in here? Does he think I'm an idiot?

"What the fuck just happened?" I ask Tom and he quickly pulls me inside and shuts the door gently.

"I can explain!" He says defensively and tries to take my hand in his, but I quickly pull it away.

"Don't touch me!" I yell in his face. "Who was that bitch and why the hell was she in here with you?"

"She - uh," Tom stutters as he tries to come up with a lame excuse, but I know the truth.

"Go to hell, asshole." I tell him and swing the door open. I burst out and walk quickly to my first class seat that is luckily surrounded by walls so I have some privacy to cry. I begin to ball my eyes out and see Tom approaching me. "Get away from me!" I scream at him and suddenly feel a familiar shaking feeling.

"Wake up!" I hear Tom's voice and suddenly open my eyes. I look around to see the first class section of the plane and Tom in his seat right beside me. It was just another horrible nightmare? "Elle, it's okay. It was just another bad dream." He says to comfort me.

I wipe the tear that has fallen down my cheek and finally make eye contact with Tom. "I- I'm sorry. I don't know why I keep getting these."

"Don't apologize! I feel horrible that I can't do anything about them. Was it about me again? Do you want to talk about it?" Tom asks. I hate having to tell him about my horrid dreams and how he's always a jerk in them. I know he would never be like that in real life, so I don't know why these visions are filling my head.

"Yeah, it was about you." I say with hesitation. "I caught you cheating on me," is all I say.

"Oh." Tom says in response and breaks eye contact. He looks really sad and it breaks my heart to see that I've caused that. 

"I'm sorry." I say again and squeeze his hand.

"Stop apologizing, Elle." He says with a smile and kisses my cheek. "While you were sleeping, the pilot made an announcement that we're an hour away from London. We're almost home!" Tom says to change the subject and my face lights up! I can't wait to live with him.

—————

"Welcome home, love!" Tom says as he opens the front door of his house for me. I smile as I walk into his fancy home and see Harry and Tom's friend welcoming me. They pop their small confetti cannons as a "welcome home" banner hangs above their head. 

"Oh my gosh! Thank you guys!" I say as confetti falls over my head. Harry walks over to me and gives me a warm hug.

"Welcome to our crib." Harry says in the worst American accent and I laugh.

"Hi, I'm Harrison. It's nice to finally meet you!" Tom's friend introduces himself and gives me a nice side hug.

"Hi! Thanks for letting me stay here for awhile." I tell the both of them as Tom takes my hand and leads me into the living room. We all sit on the couch together.

"Of course! We'll try not to let the house get too messy while you're here." Harrison says and I laugh.

"No, it's okay! You don't need to change anything while I stay here!" I reassure them. I'm so happy to be living with Tom and his friends are so nice for letting me live with them while Tom and I try to find our own place. 

Suddenly, I see a beautiful pit bull running toward me and she jumps up on the couch. She climbs into my lap and starts licking me a ton! "You must be Tessa!" I say and plop a kiss on top of her head.

"Sorry she's a bit crazy, but it seems like she loves you!" Tom says excitedly. That would be embarrassing if she didn't like me!

"You're not going to steal Tom too far away from us, are you?" Harry says as I try to avoid getting kissed on the mouth from sweet Tessa and I smile.

"Of course not! I honestly don't have much going for me back in America, so I would love to stay here in London near you guys." I honestly say. I've always wanted to travel the world, so to live in London is honestly so amazing. I really don't care about going back to live in America. Tom's family is here so I intend we stay here.

"Aw are you sure?" Tom asks me as he looks into my eyes. I nod and he smiles. "Awesome! Thanks love!" He says and pecks my lips. 

"Tom, why don't you give her a tour?" Harrison suggests.

"Yes! That'd be so fun!" I say and jump up off the couch. Tom also gets up and takes my hand. He begins showing me around their house and I love it! It's so cute! He shows me the kitchen, our bedroom, the office, etc. Finally, he takes me into the backyard. "No. Freaking. Way. You have chickens??" I say in shock as I see a couple of chickens walk past me. Tom laughs as I stare at them in awe. They're so cute!

"Yeah! They're a lot more fun than just buying eggs at the grocery store." Tom tells me. 

The rest of the day, both Tom and I unpack our suitcases in our large bedroom. This room is so boyish, obviously since it's Tom's room, and I would love to add my touch to it. However, this is only temporary so I'll wait to save my decorating skills for our own house. 

Harry and Tom cooked us all some dinner while I got to know Harrison. He is hilarious and I see why he is Tom's best friend. They're so much alike! He seems really sweet and I'm really looking forward to living here for however long.

After dinner, we all watched a movie on the living room couch and ate some popcorn. It really was the perfect first day of living together. Sure, we stayed in the same hotel rooms but that was different! I'm not living out of my suitcase anymore.

Now, after getting all ready for bed, I'm just sitting on the bed waiting for Tom to finish brushing his teeth. I hear the sink turn off and a few seconds later Tom is walking into the bedroom. He smiles at me and sits down onto the king size bed next to me. "I completely understand if you don't want to sleep in the same bed yet considering we haven't known each other that long. I can sleep on the couch if you would like?" Tom offers and I shake my head no with a laugh.

"We can both sleep in here, it's okay!" I tell him and Tom gives me the happiest smile. 

"Really? Sweet." Tom says and turns off the lamp light. We both lay down on the comfy bed as the moonlight shines through the window into our dark room. I turn around so that my back is facing Tom and he scoots closer to me. My body forms perfectly against his as he wraps his arm around me and I smile to myself. "Goodnight Elle." Tom whispers in my ear and kisses my cheek.

"Goodnight Thomas." I say and he laughs at my use of his full name.


	15. Chapter 15

Well, I have officially lived in this beautiful London home with Tom for 2 weeks! It has been the most amazing time. Tessa and I have a daily routine of snuggling on the couch in the morning while I drink my vanilla Frappuccino and write in my journal. 

Harry and Harrison are hilarious and I swear crack a thousand jokes a day! I never stop laughing in this house! There's a basketball goal in the driveway, so I basically play basketball with the three boys every single day. Did I mention they like to play with their shirts off? Don't worry, I stare at Tom the most.

Tom and I have even gone house hunting a little, but have been unsuccessful so far. We obviously want to live close to his family and friends here in London, but there are also other components we want that make us picky. Luckily, we can agree on the same things we want: a big backyard for Tessa to run and play in, a big kitchen, a ton of bedrooms so we can have guests stay over, etc. I'm okay that we haven't found a house yet, though. I love living here with the boys. Life is never dull.

"You ready?" Tom asks me as he walks into our bedroom. He joins me on the couch and sits as close to me as possible. He wraps his arm around me as he pulls out his phone.

We've decided to go live on Instagram today! Now that the world knows about Tom and I, fans have asked so many questions about us. They are all super supportive and sweet about our relationship! However, I don't want them to start making assumptions about me since there's not a lot of information out there about my life, so we wanted to do this live so they could get to know me better. Tom did one of those "ask me anything" polls on Instagram where fans could ask us questions and we plan on answering those. Well, the relative ones. We have no intention of answering the questions like "will Tom marry me?" Or "when is the baby due?" That one is just offensive!

"I have only done this a couple of times and they have all gone horribly." Tom tells me as he pulls up his Instagram profile. I have an Instagram, but have never posted on it. It has always been set to private and last time I checked, I had over 35,000 pending follower requests. Fans are very fast at finding personal accounts! But I guess it was pretty easy to find me considering I'm the only Ellery Price that Tom follows.

"Oh come on, it can't be that hard!" I tell him and point to his screen.

"That's what she said." Tom says my joke that I learned from The Office and I burst out laughing.

"I've taught you well, Padawan." I respond to Tom with a Star Wars reference and he smiles. Just like his character Peter Parker, Tom absolutely loves Star Wars! That's going to be our next series we watch after watching all of the Marvel movies. We are almost done! We have just recently watched Thor Ragnarok. It was awesome! That soundtrack was the best.

"Okay, here we go." He says as he hits the live button. Thousands of people start joining right away and we are soon in the 70,000 range. Wow! "Hey guys!" Tom says and waves to the camera. "I'm here with my girlfriend, Ellery, to answer any questions that you guys might have."

"Hi!" I say enthusiastically and wave to the camera just as Tom did. Tons of people start commenting questions and I glance at them as Tom picks the first question.

"Okay so someone asked how our relationship started?" Tom says and turns to look at me.

"Ooo that's a good one! Do you want me to answer it?" I ask Tom and he nods with a smile. Although there are over 80,000 people watching this right now, I don't feel too nervous about speaking. Besides, Tom and I have our made up story straight now about how we met.

I turn away from Tom's gorgeous face and look back at the phone. "Well, we met in a pub here in London on St. Patrick's day. I was just out having a good time with my friends, then this hunk over here comes up to me and offers to buy me a drink. I'm underage, so of course I said no, but I told him I could dance with him instead. The rest of the night was history! I danced with drunk Tom and we had a blast." I explain and Tom laughs at my explanation. I don't want his fans to think I'm breaking the law by drinking while under 21, which I don't, so I had to add that part in.

A ton of the comments start saying "Aw that's adorable" or "now I'm going to start visiting some pubs in London" and I laugh. 

"Okay, next question." Tom says and reads one randomly aloud. "This one says "when is Tom going to propose?" Hm." He says and I can tell he regrets reading that one. Obviously, we got together in the first place to eventually become married. That's what our parents wanted from the beginning. Now that our relationship is out and we've supposedly been dating for almost 4 months, a proposal should be expected soon. I just hope that when Tom chooses to propose, it's because he wants to actually be with me and not because he wants to get this arranged marriage started as soon as possible. That's probably my biggest fear at the moment. 

"My lips are sealed." Tom says and shrugs at the camera. I smile and peck his cheek. 

The rest of the questions are pretty basic, like if I've met Tom's brothers or if we're currently living together. We of course don't want to share too much information because we both like our lives private, but I know all these fans are curious. It's best if they hear these answers directly from us and not from a made up news source.

We finally answer the last question in our half hour Instagram live and it's time to say goodbye. Tom thanks everybody for watching and we both wave goodbye as Tom hits the end button. He saves the live to his profile for the next 24 hours and clicks off his phone. "Well that was eventful," he says and we high five. "You did awesome answering those questions! I thought you said you weren't good at communication and public speaking?"

"I don't know if I ever said I wasn't good at it! I just don't prefer it," I inform him and giggle. I avoid it as much as possible, but if I absolutely have to, then I will.

"So are you ready for your birthday on Monday?" Tom asks me as he helps me off the couch and we walk into the living room together hand in hand.

"Not really. Birthdays have never really been a big deal for me." I tell Tom and he quickly stops in his steps. He turns to me with utter shock clear in his face and I laugh as his mouth hangs open. "What?"

"Bloody hell! Then we have to make this birthday the best one ever! You are turning 21, after all!" Tom says and claps his hands together. I can tell the wheels in his head are turning with ideas and I smile. It's sweet how much Tom cares about me and my happiness. "What's your favorite kind of drink? Oh never mind, you've never even had an alcoholic drink before! We'll just have to get all of them! What's your favorite type of cake? I need a full playlist of your favorite songs!" Tom starts blurting out questions super fast and it seems like he's just talking to himself.

"I like strawberry cake, but I prefer ice cream, and my favorite music is alternative. That's all the information you get! Now calm down!" I say and grab his hands to stop him from pacing the room. We lock eyes and I lightly smile. "I would be just happy with sitting on that couch with you all day to celebrate my birthday." I tell him and point to the comfy couch beside us. "But if you want to plan something, then you can. I don't care what you do, just plan something you would like! I really don't have a preference," I tell him and he nods. 

I haven't really celebrated my birthday since my dad passed away because he used to make them super fun and be the one to plan the day for me. I don't really care about celebrating it anymore, but if Tom insists to plan something big, then I want it to be something he'd enjoy as well.


	16. Chapter 16

It's Monday, July 15th, aka my birthday! Tom woke me up with a sweet breakfast in bed that included waffles, bacon, and eggs. He really is a romantic! And he was right, I totally love that.

He said he has a surprise for me later this evening and I have no idea what it could be. Right now I'm currently baking some cookies because baking makes me happy so what better way to spend my birthday?

"Wow, it smells amazing in here!" Tom says as he comes up from behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. I just took the first batch of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and it smells heavenly.

"Want to try one?" I ask him as he plants a kiss on my shoulder. He opens his mouth, which I guess means yes, so I break a piece of the cookie and put it in his mouth.

"That tastes amazing! Even better than it smells!" He says as I turn around in his arms so we can face eachother.

"Thanks!" I say with a laugh. I love when people compliment my baking. My mom wouldn't really acknowledge my skill, so it's nice to feel appreciated. I think Tom knows this because he tries to give me a compliment at least every other sentence. He's adorable. 

"How does it feel to be officially be 21? You can now legally get drunk." Tom tells me and I roll my eyes.

"You know there is more to life than getting drunk, right?" I ask him and he looks confused.

"Where's the fun in that?" he says with a mischievous smile and plants a kiss on my lips. "Why are you stealing all of my clothes? You have your own closet for a reason," Tom adds as he notices I'm in his blue Peter Parker hoodie from set. 

"I was cold and it smells nice." I tell him and bring the sleeve up to my nose to smell the cologne that Tom often wears. He smiles at my satisfaction and begins to twirl the drawstring hanging from the hoodie around his finger. He tugs at it a little and I smirk as I know what's to come. He begins kissing me again and snakes his hands under the hoodie. He starts to kiss down my neck, like he usually does, and he pulls my hair to move my head back a little. I grin at his movement as he easily lifts me on top of the counter. I ruffle my hands through his hair as our lips make contact again and I raise my left thigh as he rests his hand on it. 

All of a sudden I hear snickering at the door and Tom and I immediately pull apart. We both look and see Harry standing at the entryway with his hands covering his eyes and laughing. "Y'all done yet? I just want to grab a cookie." Harry says innocently and Tom rolls his eyes.

"We're done." I say with a laugh and hop off the counter. Harry uncovers his eyes and smirks. 

"Happy Birthday Elle. Sorry my present isn't as good as the one Tom just gave you," Harry says and Tom smacks him on the shoulder. "Bloody hell! What was that for?" Harry says, still trying to sound clueless, and I just laugh. 

"Thank you, Harry." I say and plop a cookie in my mouth.

—————

"Where are we going? You're not leading me into a forest where you're gonna murder me, right?" I ask Tom as he helps me out of his car cause of the fact I can't see with this blindfold on. He told me earlier he had a surprise for me and he didn't want me to be able to see where we were going while he was driving. "Ow!" I yelp as I trip over a rock or a curb, I can't really tell. 

"Sorry, love!" Tom says quickly, still having his hand squeezed around mine to make sure I don't fall. "We're almost there." He says as we take more steps. I can feel the cool breeze of the evening air against my revealed skin. I'm wearing a black and pink romper, one of my purchases I made with Tom during our very first trip to the mall together. I remember that day so clearly, but it feels like forever ago. So many feelings have changed and developed since that day. I felt so much anger toward my mom, and even though I still do, I'm very thankful I've met Tom. I can't get enough of him. I just love spending time with him. We learn something new about each other everyday and that helps keep things interesting. 

"Alright, were here! You can take your blindfold off!" Tom announces and reaches behind my head to help me pull off the blindfold. He takes it in his hands and lifts it above my head, being careful not to mess up my curled hair like the sweet boy he is. 

It takes my eyes a second to adjust to the glow of the light coming off of the sunset. I look around and notice an old looking bar right in front of us. "A pub? This was your surprise?" I ask him with a smile. I know 21st birthdays are usually spent at bars considering that's when someone can have their first legal drink, so I'm not surprised. Tom told me last week that the legal drinking age in London was 18 and that I should drink some wine with him, but I declined. I've always been used to waiting until I was 21, so I knew I could wait a week longer.

"It'll be fun, I promise!" Tom says hopefully as he rests his hand on my lower back to lead me inside. We enter the darkly lit room that has a gold chandelier hanging from the ceiling and red booths lining the walls. There's a huge banner hanging that reads "Happy 21st Birthday Elle" and pink balloons surround the place. It is eerily quiet and empty until I suddenly hear the roar of music come loudly out of the jukebox in the corner. I look at Tom with a very confused expression and he just smiles back at me with a mischievous glow in his eyes.

"Surprise!" I suddenly hear and jerk my head straight to see the beautiful faces of people I've come to know these past couple of weeks pop out from hiding.

"Oh my goodness!" I shout as I bring my hands up to my mouth in shock. "You did this for me?" I look at Tom with a wide smile and big eyes as he nods his head yes. "You're the best!" I say and give him a quick, but thankful hug. I release to look around at all the faces looking back at me. 

Of course, there's Harry and Harrison standing together with bright smiles. I also recognize Harry's twin brother, Sam, standing with them. I met him about a week ago when I went to visit Tom's family. I met his mom and the rest of his brothers, like Paddy. They are all so kind!

I continue to look around and my eyes amaze me. Standing near a red booth is Zendaya and Jake Gyllenhaal. Oh my gosh! 

I, of course, don't have many friends yet, but this little party will do and I truly appreciate Tom for bringing everyone together. I can't believe Zendaya and Jake are here! I've only talked to them a couple of times, but we've FaceTimed and become pretty close already!

Zendaya and Jake both walk up to me as I'm still stuck with shock in the doorway. No one has ever done anything like this for me, I just can't believe it. I'm so lucky!

"Elle! Happy birthday gorgeous!" Zendaya says with her pearly white smile and engulfs me in a hug. We sway back and forth in excitement. 

"Thank you! I can't believe you're here in London!" I say excitedly and return the smile.

"Yeah! Tom told us about your birthday and we just had to be here!" She tells me.

"What about me? I want a hug too!" Jake says from beside Zendaya.

"I could never forget about you!" I say in a friendly voice and Jake picks me up in his arms as we hug. I laugh as he puts me down and squeezes my shoulders. "Thank you for coming! It seriously means a lot to me."

"Of course. We wouldn't miss it for the world." Jake says with a grin and turns to Tom. "Can we get drunk now?" He bluntly says and now I can see why they're such good friends.

"Let's get this party started!" I hear Harrison yell from the corner and he turns the music up even more. Everybody walks to the center of the pub and Tom hands me a shot of vodka. 

"Don't mind if I do." I say jokingly and bring the small shot glass up to my mouth. I swing my head back and quickly drown the liquid down my throat as everyone cheers. It burns a little, but I surprisingly like it. Tom watches me intently as he waits for my reaction. "Can I have another one?" I ask sweetly and Tom just laughs.

"Great, I've turned my girlfriend into an alcoholic." He says jokingly and I laugh back. Might as well have fun tonight! It is my birthday after all.

The night is filled with loud music and dancing. A live band showed up at the beginning and they were so awesome. The night has also been filled with drinking whatever the waiter brings to me. Tom told me I can order whatever I want and it's all on him. I've mainly stuck to my shots of vodka, but decided to try a Margarita too. It was pretty good. 

Tom and I dance with our fingers intertwined and ours bodies move to the music together. "Woah!" I slur as I stumble forward and Tom catches me in his arms. He hugs me tightly to his body and his blurry face looks at me with concern. 

"Damn. How many drinks have you had tonight, Elle?" I hear Tom ask me. I try to stand up but the room gets dizzy so I decide to stay learned against Tom in the middle of the dance floor. 

"Not enough." I say.

"I think you've had more than enough." Tom says with a laugh and kisses the top of my head. I roll my eyes at him and join in on his laughter. I throw my head back and can't control my laughing for some reason. I don't really understand why I think that was so funny, but my head is too clouded to focus on that right now. 

"Can I tell you a secret?" I whisper to Tom so that no one hears me in this loud room. I wrap my arms around Tom's neck and continue to lean against him as I giggle some more. His arms stay secure around my upper waist as he nods his head yes. 

"Of course." He says with a grin. I can tell he thinks I'm making a fool of myself, but I disagree. 

"I- I loveeee you," I stutter and slur the words, but they eventually come out. I expect Tom to look at me with surprise, but he just gives me a warm, gentle smile as we make eye contact.

"You're very sweet." He tells me and begins to sway me in his arms as a slow song comes on. I close my eyes and rest my head on his shoulder. He probably can't take me seriously because I'm drunk, so I won't let his response bother me. However, I meant it. I didn't know I could develop feelings so fast, but in this very moment, I can tell I'm in love with him and that I can rely on him to take care of me. I know that I can take care of myself and that I don't need a man in my life, but I want him. I want him in my life forever. 

They say the truth comes out when you're drunk. I can see that now. I don't care about the consequences of what I just said, I only care about what's in my heart and that is it.


	17. Chapter 17

"Beep boop," I say in my best robotic voice as I push our doorbell over and over as Tom tries to unlock the door. We left my birthday party at the pub about half an hour ago and it was so much fun. I got really upset when Tom told me it was time to go, but he promised me I could eat some of my birthday cake when we got home. We're home now and I haven't even had my birthday cake yet!

He opens the door and I hold my arms out for him to pick me up. "Carry me! It'll be like we just got married!" I say with a giggle and he smiles at my goofiness. He scoops one arm under my legs and the other on my back as he picks me up. He kicks the front door open with his foot and carries me inside. "Yay!" I cheer and clap my hands together. 

Tom walks me over to the comfy couch in our living room and sets me down gently. "We should pop open some champagne to celebrate our marriage!"

"Elle, we're not married yet. It's your birthday and you're drunk, so I don't think any more alcohol is a good idea," Tom sweetly informs me. I'm upset he said we aren't married, but something about his "yet" makes my heart flutter inside. At least I get to marry him someday! 

"Can we get married tomorrow, then?" I ask as the idea pops into my head. 

"Sure." Tom says and hands me a cup of ice water from the kitchen. He sits down next to me as I take a sip. 

"Yay!" I cheer again but louder this time, making Tom laugh. "I can't wait to show everyone how much I love you!" I say those 3 words again and look at Tom to see how he reacts. His smile never leaves his face and it makes me happy. He hasn't said it back yet, but maybe he just thinks I'm saying it cause I'm drunk. But that's not why! I really do feel that way!

"It's almost midnight. Do you want to go to bed?" Tom asks me as he glances at the clock. 

A mischievous grin grows on my face as I climb into his lip and put my legs on either side of him. He rests his hands on my hips and looks confused. "I'd gladly go to bed with you." 

"You know that's not what I meant." Tom laughs and pecks my lips with his. I kiss him back, but this time longer and swipe my tongue across his lips. His hands go to my thighs and slowly travel up under the shorts of my romper. The feeling of his fingers on my skin make my body tingle as we kiss harder. 

He stops his hands and I frown. "Why'd you stop?" I whine with a pouty face. 

"You're wearing a romper. My hands can't go up any further." Tom says with a laugh and looks down at my outfit.

"Well who the hell designed these stupid things? Help me take it off!" I say to him and begin to slide my left strap off of my left shoulder. 

"Let's go to our room so the boys don't walk in on us when they get home." Tom says and easily lifts me off his lap. We run to his room together hand in hand and I sit down on the bed. Tom walks over to me and pulls the other strap off my right shoulder, which allows the top of my romper to fall to my waist. "You are gorgeous."

I lay down on the bed and Tom climbs on top to hover over me. He begins to suck on my neck and make his way down to my collarbone. I wrap my legs around his waist to pull him closer to me. 

"As much as," Tom starts to say between kissing my neck, "I love this, I don't want to take advantage of you while you're drunk." He stops kissing me and we lock eye contact. 

"You're joking, right? I'm perfectly fine with this!" I say and sit up. Tom climbs off the bed and stands up in front of me.

"But you could regret this tomorrow. I don't want you to be upset this happened just because you had a lot to drink. I want our first time to be special." Tom explains and takes my hand in his. I rip my hand out of his and roll off the bed. 

"This is special! It's my birthday for crying out loud!" I shout and walk into the bathroom. I slam the door shut and just the loud noise makes my stomach churn. Uh oh!

I throw myself down to hover over the toilet seat as I feel my stomach rumble. The puking comes so fast that I hang my head over the toilet as it doesn't stop. I hear Tom open the bathroom door and rush to my side. He gathers my long, brunette hair in his hand and pulls it back out of my face. "It'll be okay. I got you," he comforts me as he rubs my back slowly with his free hand.

—————

I slowly open my eyes as I'm blinded by the morning light coming in through the bedroom windows. "What the hell?" I quietly say to myself as I try to remember how I got in bed last night. My slight thinking makes my head start to pound and I bring my hand up to my forehead to ease the pain caused by the headache. 

I slowly get out of bed and walk out into the living room to see Tom sitting on the couch petting Tessa. "Good morning sunshine." Tom says sweetly and opens his arms as a gesture for me to join him.

"I feel like crap." I tell him as I sit beside him and lay my head on his shoulder. 

"That, my love, would be a hangover." He says with a laugh and kisses my forehead. "Do you remember anything from last night?" He asks me questioningly, as if he's wanting me to remember something specific.

"Uh the last thing I remember is taking my first shot with you and then dancing at my party." I tell him and reach over to pet Tessa. She licks my hand and I smile. 

"Ah yes, your first shot of many." Tom says and I roll my eyes. 

"Although I don't remember half of it, thank you for throwing me an awesome party. That was very sweet of you." I tell Tom and he winks at me.

"Anything for you, darling."

"I loved getting to see Zendaya and Jake again! I wish I had friends like them here in London." I say sadly. 

"What do you mean? You have Harry, Harrison, and I," Tom says and it makes my heart sad.

"I know and I love you guys! But sometimes I just feel like I follow you around all the time. I would kind of like to branch out and make some friends of my own."

"You want separate friends?" Tom asks me in a snarky tone.

"That's not what I meant! I don't want a separate life from you; that's not how a relationship works. I just want some girl friends that I can casually call up and ask if they wanna go get coffee together." I explain myself to Tom. I've never really had friends of my own because I've always been busy taking care of my mom, being a nanny, etc. Now that I'm officially living in London with Tom, I'd love to explore and meet some new friends. If I'm with Tom 24/7 for the rest of my life, I'm afraid we'd end up getting very tired of each other!

"I never said you couldn't go out and make friends." Tom snaps at me and gets up from his spot on the couch. I look up at him confused with where this hurtful tone is coming from. 

"I never said you were keeping me from doing that. Don't put words in my mouth!" I say loudly and stand up from the couch so that I'm standing right in front of him. Standing up quickly has made my head pound even worse, but I don't even care right now. I wanna know where Tom's attitude is coming from.  
"You're being an asshole." I tell him bluntly and he scoffs.

"You're just hungover. You don't mean that," he says and I roll my eyes yet again.

"I completely mean that! I thought this arranged marriage was supposed to help me have a happier future?"

"You're not happy?" Tom asks me and his puppy dog eyes make my heart melt, even though I'm furious at him. 

"Of course I'm happy! I love being with you and wish we could sit on this couch forever and cuddle. Sometimes, I just wish I had my own friends to hangout with. I need some girl time! It's hard being surrounded by gross boys all of the time." I say and Tom laughs at my joke about him, Harry, and Harrison. 

He nods his head. "I understand. I'm sorry you feel that way and that I snapped at you. I was just afraid you were already getting sick of me and would leave." 

"I have no plans of ever leaving you. We're in this for the long run!" I say and point between us. Tom pulls me in for a hug and wraps his strong arms around me. I wrap my arms around his torso and lay my head on his chest. I could stay like this forever.

"Harrison told me he was thinking about joining a six week photography class. I know how much you love taking pictures, so maybe you could go with him and meet some people with similar interests." Tom suggests and I smile to myself.

"I'd love that."


	18. Chapter 18

After my birthday last week, I decided to accept all of my pending requests on Instagram and didn't expect to get that many anymore, considering I'm not a big surprise to people anymore. But for some reason, last night my phone absolutely blew up and I got a huge amount of new follower requests. I don't care about the amount of followers I have, but it does make me wonder if something happened. 

As I stare at my phone with a confused expression, I take a sip of my ice water and cuddle in closer with my soft blanket. Tom is currently out playing golf with Harry. Harrison couldn't join them today because he got a cold all of a sudden. He's currently in his bedroom with a fever.

I hit the "accept all" button on my Instagram and my follower count goes up even more. I begin to get loads of new notifications of comments on my most recent Instagram photo of Tom and I at my birthday party. In the photo, we have our arms around each other and I'm holding a glass of champagne up in the air. We have the biggest smiles on our faces and I smile at the happy memory. 

I click on the post and begin to scroll through the new comments:

"someone went a little crazy on her birthday night"

"if I knew Tom was interested in a nobody then I would've hit him up years ago"

"I thought you weren't supposed to drink alcohol while pregnant"

"the media is having a field day posting about this sl-"

I don't even want to read the last word on that one comment. How could people say such mean things? My heart sinks as I begin to feel light headed. Do people really think this way about me? Do I look pregnant? What has the media been saying about me lately?

I exit Instagram and pull up safari on my phone. I search my name in the search bar and immediately posts made only moments ago begin to pop up. The headlines read:

Is Tom Holland Dating a Party Animal?

Tom Holland's Girlfriend Isn't a Great Influence 

Did Tom Holland's Girlfriend, Ellery Price, Have Too Much To Drink? 

... and so much more. Pictures of Tom helping me stumble out of the pub at the end of the night fill the screen and a tear falls down my cheek. Is this really how everybody sees me? A party animal? A drunk? A bad influence? 

I don't even want to read what these articles are saying about me. I already have a feeling what words these pages are filled with. I just can't believe how the media can turn one innocent, fun night into a new scandal. What they're saying obviously isn't true, but the fans don't know that and that hurts. That hurts my heart knowing that there are people out there who hate me. It hurts knowing there are people out there so horrible that they can say such cruel things about someone they don't even know.

I slowly get up from the couch and walk over to Harrison's bedroom door. I knock and hear a faint "come in" from the other side. I walk in to see Harrison sitting on his bed with his shirt off and a tv remote in his hand. He stares at the tv, clicking through the channels, before taking a quick glance at me and seeing my tear stained cheeks.

"Elle, what's wrong?" Harrison says with concern and jumps off his bed. He walks over to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder to guide me to his bed. I sit next to him and sniffle. "You can talk to me." He says sweetly and swipes a piece of hair out of my face. 

"I know. I just- it hurts. It really hurts." I say and lay my head on his shoulder. He places his hand on my back and gently rubs it.

"What does?"

"All the mean things people are saying about me." I say and hear Harrison sigh.

"The media has already started attacking you? Wow, that's low." He says and lifts my chin up with his thumb so we're making eye contact. "Whatever they're saying, Elle, it's not true. Just ignore those losers! You're perfect the way you are and don't deserve the hate. You have a bunch of people who actually know you and your genuine personality. We all care about you and will always be here for you." He finishes his statement and nods his head, waiting for me to agree with him.

"Thank you, Harrison. That means a lot." I say and kiss his cheek.

"Of course! And I'm sure when Tom gets home, he'll say the exact same thing because it's true." Harrison says and we wrap our arms around each other. We stay in our hug for about a minute and I close my eyes, taking in every second.

"You're the best, ya know that?" I say and stand up from the bed.

"I try." He says and I sniffle a laugh. He grabs my hand and squeezes it before I walk to his door and exit the room. I close the door behind me and come face to face with Tom standing in the hallway. He finishes taking a sip of his water and looks at me with a smile.

"What were my two best mates up to?" Tom says and sets the glass down on the counter. I walk up to him and wrap my arms around him tightly. He gently squeezes me. "Are you alright?"

"I'm just happy to see you." I tell him and he grins. "Thank you for caring about me so much."

"Of course, Elle. You're my whole world." He says in his sweet British accent and my heart melts. Those comments really hurt me, but after talking with Harrison, it's helped hit me with the reality that not everyone will like me. What matters most is that I have people who do care about me and I should be grateful for them. I'm so thankful to live here and to be with Tom. He cares about me so much and I don't need to bother him with my problems that don't even matter. 

"So how was golf?"

—————

The cool breeze of the August air floats through the open windows of our London home. About a month has passed since my birthday and my whole “scandal”. Tom eventually found out it bothered me a little that people were saying such mean things, but we talked about it and it doesn’t bother me anymore. People can say what they want but that doesn’t make it true. I’m truly happy for once and have people who actually care about me.

Honestly, living in London just keeps getting better. Harrison and I start our first photography class tomorrow and I couldn’t be more excited! It’s a six week course we’re doing together and it’s every Friday at noon for a couple hours. Tom bought me a new camera so I could bring a professional one to class! It was so sweet of him and I’m so eager to try it out in class.

Tom is currently in Anaheim, California for the D23 Expo, where he is going to talk about his new movie, Onward, with Chris Pratt. Harry went with him to take some behind the scenes pictures. I can’t wait to see them! Unfortunately, I couldn’t go with him because of my photography class being on the same day. This is the first time without him ever since we met and it feels a little weird, not gonna lie. When he invited me to come to the expo, he said we could hop on over to San Francisco for a few days to visit my mom, which I thought was such a sweet offer. Even though my mom and I may disagree sometimes, I still miss her since I haven’t seen her since June. 

“I’m going to bed!” I hear Harrison call out from his bedroom, interrupting my thoughts.

“Goodnight loser!” I call back from the couch. 

“Goodnight Elle!” He yells back and I smile. I always call him funny nicknames, but of course, he always just calls me Elle because he’s a sweetheart. 

Tessa is currently laying on my legs, so I decide to just stay here on the couch for tonight; it’s pretty comfortable anyways. Thoughts of Tom having fun at the D23 fill my head and I smile to myself as I drift off to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

"Get out!" I scream with power at Tom and the girl that's currently on top of him.

"I can explain-" Tom begins to say, but I walk over to him and slap him across the cheek before he can finish.

"Get the fuck out." I say sternly and watch them leave the room hand in hand. Tears begin to fall down my cheeks and I collapse onto the ground. I bury my face into my hands and sob uncontrollably.

"Wake up!" I hear someone shout. "Elle, wake up!"

I open my eyes to find myself on the living room couch and Harrison hovering above me. I feel wetness on my cheeks yet again and realize I had yet another nightmare that resulted in me actually crying.

"I heard you crying, so I decided to come check on you. Are you okay?" Harrison asks me and slowly rubs my arm in comfort. I sit up and nod my head.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Ever since the beginning of July, I've been having these nightmares over and over."

"If you don't mind me asking, what about?"

"Either I catch Tom cheating on me, or he hates me and does cruel things. I don't know why this is happening, it's not like he'd ever do any of these things." I explain to Harrison and shrug my shoulders. Harrison looks into my eyes and I can see a hint of sadness hidden in his.

"I'm sorry you keep experiencing that. Anything I can do to help? Need a glass of water?" He asks sweetly and I smile under the dark light.

"I'm okay, thanks though." I say and squeeze his arm. He stands up and begins to walk to his bedroom. I grab the blanket from the couch and stand up as well to go walk to my comfy bed instead. However, the fear of my nightmares haunting me again tonight fills my head. I turn back around and call out, "Um, Harrison? Could you stay with me tonight?"

Harrison turns around to face me and his beautiful eyes glisten in the moonlight shining in through the windows. "Yeah, of course I will."

I turn back around and walk into my bedroom, hearing Harrison's footsteps behind me. I climb into my side of the bed and Harrison goes to Tom's side. We look at eachother and smile before I lean over and turn off my bedside lamp. The room goes dark and I can't see very well as my eyes adjust to the darkness, but I can feel Harrison scooting closer to me. He's lays on his back and I inch closer, laying my head on his shoulder and my hand on his chest. 

"Goodnight loser. Sweet dreams," Harrison says and I giggle right before falling fast asleep in the comfort of his arms.

—————

My photography class is in a few hours and I'm super nervous! I know I'll be okay though because I'll have Harrison right beside me. He's really excited and knows we'll have fun! 

Tom is currently at the D23 convention and I'm super jealous. I would have loved to go, but maybe next year! He has his lunch break in a couple minutes and is going to text me when he's ready to FaceTime. 

I pull out my phone while I wait and pull up Snapchat. I flip through the filters for fun and land upon one that greatly distorts my face. I laugh out loud at my appearance and Harrison looks over at me with confusion. We're currently sitting at the kitchen table together and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We've been a little too lazy to cook these past few days.

"What are you laughing at?" He says curiously and scoots his chair closer to me.

"This filter is hilarious! Get in the frame, I wanna send a pic to Tom," I say, so Harrison leans in and we make funny faces as I snap the picture. I laugh again and send the pic to Tom's private Snapchat username. He doesn't really like crazy fans following his Snapchat, so it's sort of a secret. Only family and close friends know about it.

I pull out my phone and text Tom. "Ready to FaceTime yet? I miss you. And btw, don't open the snap pic I just sent you with people around😉" I hit send and smirk to myself. Harrison leans over and reads the message.

"You're pure evil, but that's why I love you." He says and we both laugh again. "He probably thinks you sent him a naughty picture or something." 

"That's the point." I say and smirk. "I'm cruel, I know." 

All of a sudden, my phone begins to play the Avengers theme song and Tom's contact photo fills my phone screen. In the photo, he's giving a big cheesy smile and it makes me smile at his cuteness. That boy is all mine.

I pick up the phone and swipe to answer. "Hey Thomas!" I say and smile widely. Tom just glares at me and I immediately understand why.

"That was so mean! You tricked me!" Tom says in a whisper and I break out into laughter. "It's not funny!" He says but also begins to snicker.

"It's a good thing you wear tight pants, mate," Harrison leans in and shouts into the phone.

"Oh shut up." Tom tells him and flips him off. I turn my phone back away from Harrison so that Tom can see my face. 

"So love, are you ready for your photography class?" Tom asks and I shrug. "Oh come on, you're going to do wonderful!"

"I know, but I'm nervous. I haven't gone to a class since high school."

"This is nothing like that! It's a class that helps you with something you're passionate about it and Harrison will be right there beside you." Tom says, but my frown doesn't leave my face. I struggle with anxiety sometimes and it's just hard to keep under control. I can't help my palms from becoming all sweaty or my stomach from churning. 

My anxiousness all started after I heard about my dad and his car accident. That was so unexpected and you just never know when something bad is going to happen. I've talked a little about this with Tom, considering I had that panic attack in the car when I first left with him back in San Francisco. 

"I wish I could be there to comfort you." Tom says and frowns as well. Well now I feel bad because I don't want him to feel guilty about leaving me!

"It's okay, don't feel bad. Harrison will take good care of me." I say and swing my arm over Harrison's shoulder a little too harshly.

"Ow!" Harrison shouts and shoots me a glare.

"Oops sorry." I say and ruffle his hair with my hands.

"I know what can make you feel better." Tom says into the phone and I raise an eyebrow.

"If you guys are about to talk dirty over the phone, then I'm out of here." Harrison says and shoots us a glare.

"No, Harrison! I was gonna say that I told Chris Pratt all about you, Elle, and he wants to meet you over the phone!" Tom's words make my cheeks blush and my eyes go big.

"Chris Pratt wants to talk to me?" I say. This is unbelievable! I guess being Tom's girlfriend has its perks.

"Heck yeah I do!" I hear a familiar voice say. Suddenly, Chris Pratt pops his head into the frame and I almost drop my phone.

"Oh my gosh hi!" I say in shock and awkwardly wave. Tom laughs at my awkwardness and Chris gives me a wide smile.

"I just had to meet the famous Elle! Your boyfriend over here won't stop talking about you; it's hard to get him to shut up," Chris says and I begin to blush. 

"Aw that's so sweet." I say in response. Tom doesn't stop talking about me? That makes my heart melt.

"So why aren't you over here in Cali with us?"

"Oh I have a photography class today that I just couldn't miss!" I explain to Chris and hold up my camera that is sitting next to me. 

"Wow awesome!" Chris says enthusiastically. "I gotta go, but it was great talking to you! I expect to see you with Tom at the Onward premiere later this year, so that I can meet you properly."

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it!" I tell him and wave goodbye. Chris exits the screen and Tom re appears. 

"Well I gotta go too," Tom says sadly and I frown. "I miss you so much darling."

"I miss you too, Tom."

"Have fun at your photography class and I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Yeah I will!" I say and blow him a kiss goodbye. We stare at each other for a few seconds, like some unsaid words are lingering above in the air. But instead of saying those unspoken words, we hang up the phone and I sigh out loud. Harrison has been sitting next to me this entire time and he glances over at me with concern. 

"You really miss him, don't you?" He asks sadly and I nod my head yes. "Why don't you tell him you love him already?" Harrison says and I sit up straight in my chair.

"What do you mean?" I ask him accusingly. 

"Oh come on, it's obvious, isn't it? You guys obviously love each other, but are too blind and afraid to see it."

"Because isn't that a little too soon?" I ask confused.

"Of course not! If you keep using that as your excuse, then life is going to pass you by. Don't wait for the perfect moment or else it'll be too late," Harrison says. I rest my head on my hand and begin to think. I mean, Chris did say that Tom couldn't stop talking about me. Jake also said that exact same thing the first time I met him. Maybe Tom does love me, but I don't want to tell him I do and then he not feel the same way. 

Besides, I wouldn't tell him I love him for the first time over the phone. I guess we'll just see what happens when he gets home tomorrow. But for now, I have a photography class to go to and focus on.


	20. Chapter 20

"Babe!" I shout as I hear the front door open, which means Tom and Harry are finally home from the airport. I jump up off the couch in a hurry and rush over to Tom. He drops the suitcase he's been carrying and throws open his arms for me to jump into. I leap into his arms and wrap my arms around his neck as he lifts me up off the ground. I manage to kiss his cheek as he squeezes me close to him and then, sadly, puts me back down. "I thought you'd never come back home!" I tell him.

They texted Harrison and I when their plane landed, which was like 2 hours ago, so I expected they'd have been home much sooner. I was getting a little worried and my brain started to fill with horrible thoughts. What if something had happened to them? What if they got in a car accident on the way home?

I feel that Tom can sense the panic in my voice and he grabs my hand in his. "I'm sorry, darling. There was a bunch of traffic."

"Well what matters is you're home now." I say and force a smile. I don't want him to know I was freaking out just a minute prior to him arriving home. I turn to Harry and give him a welcoming hug. The rest of the evening is filled with eating dinner and helping Tom unpack.

As bedtime approaches, I sit in bed with my thoughts as Tom gets ready for bed. "Hey love?" Tom says and I look up at him. He has his shirt off and is standing there looking at me in only his boxer shorts.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Are you alright? Earlier you seemed a bit, uh, alarmed?" He asks with worry and runs his fingers through his hair to keep it out of his face. 

"Oh yeah, I'm, um, I'm fine. Great, actually." I stutter and it's totally obvious I'm lying. Tom climbs into bed and continues to stare into my eyes. It's like he can see my lie deep down in my soul. 

"You can tell me anything, Elle. What's the matter?" 

I hesitate, but decide to open up a little to him. We've talked about my dad's car accident in the past, but never in depth. Maybe it's time he knows the truth behind my anxiety and fears. 

"Well, the night my dad passed away, it happened while he was driving home from work. I was just sitting at home with my mom, watching some tv, and waiting for my dad to get home just like every other night. But this night was different. He never arrived back home." I explain, but Tom already knows all this, so I continue. "So, earlier today, all that trauma filled my head and made me thinking what if you never came home? I don't know what I'd do if something horrible like that happened to you."

"Elle, I'm not going anywhere, I promise. Nothing like that is going to happen." Tom says to comfort me and wraps his arms around me. I rest my head on his shoulder and a tear falls down my cheek, on to his shirt.

"But you don't know that!" I say and pull away from our hug to look him in the eyes. 

"You're right. Life is uncertain. But just know, I'll always be here for you. Whether that's in real life or in spirit, just like your father." He says and I begin to sob. I lean into him again and we wrap our arms around each other. We sit here like this for what feels like hours, but is only actually a few minutes. I pull away again and Tom wipes a tear off my cheek with his thumb. "I know what can make you feel better. How about tomorrow we spend the whole day together and finish it off with some dinner in the city?" Tom offers and my face lights up.

"I would love that."

—————

"Today has literally been the most perfect day!" I tell Tom as we walk along the Westminster Bridge hand in hand. The sun is slowly starting to set and I couldn't be happier. Tom has basically been my tour guide today! We rode the London Eye ferris wheel, saw the Elizabeth Clock Tower, picked some flowers, and ate a delicious fancy dinner. Now, we're on our way to get ice cream! 

"I'm glad you've had a brilliant day, love." Tom says. It makes my heart flutter every time he calls me his love. "And now we're going to finish it off in the most perfect way possible." Tom adds. I have a feeling he means more than ice cream. But what could he really mean?

We turn a corner and reach a beautiful side walk that is aligned with trees that sort of form an arch at the end. It's absolutely gorgeous! To our right is the Thames river and we stop to admire the gorgeous water glimmering in the sunset light. "It's beautiful."

"I agree." Tom says and I turn to see that he's looking directly at me. "Elle, I love you." Tom says suddenly and my heart begins to beat a million times a minute. Wow I was not expecting that. 

I stare at him with my mouth slightly open and I probably look like a flounder. I look into his eyes and I can clearly see safety and kind love. From the moment I met him, I knew I'd fall for him. I just didn't know I'd fall this hard and that he'd fall just the same.

"I love you." I say back and smile as my eyes start to tear up. Tom grabs both my hands in his and we face eachother.

"I love the way you look in my sweatshirts. I love the face you make when you get annoyed with me. I love how well you get along with my family and friends. I love how I feel like I've known you my whole life and can trust you with anything. I love your big brown eyes and how they're sparkling in the sunlight right now. I love that Tessa loves you almost as much as I do." Tom says and I soak in every word. I grin as a tear falls down my cheek. I let the tear fall without embarrassment because I know it's a result of pure happiness. "But most importantly, I love how you light up a whole room with your beautiful smile and make me feel like the happiest man in the world every single day. I love you, Ellery Price."

Tom starts to bend down on one knee and I bring my hands up to my mouth in shock. I almost fall over and probably would have if Tom didn't grab my arm for support. I close my eyes in fear that when I open my eyes this will all be a dream. But happily, when I open them, I still see the boy that I love standing right in front of me. "No way." I manage to say. Tom laughs and looks up at me.

"I know that this list will continue to grow for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?" Tom asks and I begin to jump up and down in excitement. "Heck yes!" I squeal before leaning over and hugging Tom as tight as I can. He wraps his safe arms around me and I know that I'm home.


	21. Chapter 21

"WE'RE ENGAGED!" I scream as Tom and I run inside the house after our date. 

Harry and Harrison come sprinting around the corner and jump to hug the both of us. We all group hug and jump around like excited little children. "Finally!" Harrison shouts and gives me an individual hug. 

"We knew you could build up the nerve to propose some day," Harry says to Tom and gives him a brotherly pat on the back. Tom rolls his eyes and rejoins me by my side. We hold hands as we all walk into the living room. 

A big banner stretches from wall to wall and reads "It's About Damn Time. Congratulations!" I bring my hands up to my mouth in shock and let out a laugh. "Oh my goodness! So you guys already knew?" I look at Harry and Harrison and they both nod.

"We just about helped Tom plan every detail." Harry reveals and I smile. That's so adorable that they all put their heads together in order to make this such a special day for me. This is definitely the happiest day of my life, all thanks to them. "I love you guys," I say and we have another group hug as I wrap my arms around their shoulders. 

"So is Sam going to move in with us once you two finally move out?" Harrison asks and my face drops.

"I completely forgot we have to move out now!" I say and fall onto the couch in sadness. Tom sits down next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"Babe, it's alright."

"But I have so much fun here!" I say and shrug my shoulders.

"We're going to find a beautiful house to live in and I promise they'll come to visit all the time." Tom assures me and I give him a small smile. "We still have time to go house hunting and enjoy our time here."

"You're right." I say and we make eye contact.

Tom leans in and starts to whisper in my ear. "Just think about it. We're gonna have the whole new place to ourselves and be able to do whatever we want. Doesn't that sound nice?" He says with a smirk and winks at me. Whatever we want? That sounds nice.

"You have a point there." I whisper back with a smirk that matches his. "I'm gonna go call Z!" I say excitedly and hop off of the couch.

I run into our bedroom and sit on the bed as I pull out my phone and hit FaceTime under Zendaya's contact. It rings a few times until her smile fills up my screen.

"Hey girl!" She says happily and waves.

"Hi!" I say and wave with my left hand in hopes she'll notice the ring. Her face lights up and I know that my plan has worked.

"No freaking way! Is that what I think it is?" She says and starts squealing in excitement.

"Yes it is!" I shout and hold up my left hand so that she can see the beautiful ring more clearly. "He just proposed on our date!"

"Oh my gosh I'm so happy for you guys!" Zendaya says and her white teeth shine as she smiles. "I wish I was there to give you a huge hug!"

"Aw thank you! It's been way too long since we last saw each other. I miss you!" I say truthfully.

"Soon, sunshine, I promise! So when's the wedding?" She asks and I shrug.

"We haven't thought that far out yet. We still have to go looking for a house too." I explain.

"I better be invited to the wedding!" Zendaya says and we both laugh.

"Of course! I was also sort of hoping you'd be my bridesmaid?" I say and her face lights up again.

"Hell yes! I'd love to!" She starts jumping up and down in excitement and her screen shakes.

We continue to discuss wedding details until it's time for her to go and she blows me a kiss goodbye. As I hang up the phone I realize that she is probably going to be my only bridesmaid considering I have no other girl friends. There's one girl in my photography class that I met this past week and she's super sweet. Maybe if we become closer friends, then I could ask her to be another one of my bridesmaids. 

The thought of calling my mom to tell her of my engagement crosses my mind, but the importance of it soon goes away. This was the whole plan anyways; Tom and I were supposed to get engaged, so my mom already expected this. Why should I take the time to call her? She'll see it posted all over the media soon enough.

The rest of the night involves Tom and I cuddling as we watch the second Mission Impossible movie and the boys throwing popcorn at each other on the other couch. I sure am going to miss the craziness of this home once Tom and I move out. Although I'm sad, I'm super excited for what the future will bring. I can't wait to start a new home and family with Tom. Speaking of family, Tom and I have never discussed that part of our future. Do we both want kids? How many? What part of our lives do we want to start having kids? Tom has his whole career in front of him and I don't want to prevent him from following his dreams. 

As I sip on my morning Frappuccino, I grab my phone and pull up social media. I rarely check Instagram, but in light of the recent event of Tom proposing, I decide to see if anyone knows yet. I get a notification that I was tagged in a post by Tom. I pull it up and see a picture of Tom holding me in his arms. You can see the box in his hand and my ring shining in the dim sunlight on my left hand. I forgot Tom told me he had a secret photographer there to capture the special moment. This must be one of his favorites that was taken last night.

I smile at the happiness that is apparent on our faces in the picture. This beautiful picture is now my absolute favorite of the both of us. It doesn't even do justice for how happy I felt in this moment. I scroll down to read Tom's caption:

Cheers my love🥂 Here's to forever with the girl that makes me happiest

His short and sweet caption makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. He's all mine and I'm all his. I couldn't wish for anything more. All the comments are filled with mixed emotions and I laugh.

Congratulations! I'm so jealous😭

Omg I wish that was me

This is so unfair

They're so adorable🥺 so happy for y'all!

Why her? 

The comments are mostly positive, but there are a few in there of girls complaining that they wish they were in my shoes. I can't blame them, though. My life feels pretty spectacular.

Tom walks in and sees that I have his post pulled up. "Do you like the photo? It was my favorite one!" He says enthusiastically and I smile at how excited he is about it.

"I love it! I can't wait to see the rest." I say and he bends over to peck my lips with a kiss. He starts making waffles as I screenshot his post and pull up my own Instagram profile. I post the same picture with the caption:

A million times YES💍

Within seconds, the post starts to get thousands of likes and for the first time, all these likes are making me happy. As much as I like to keep Tom and I's relationship private, posting this picture just makes it truly official that Tom and I are engaged. Now the whole world knows how in love we are.

I'm sure a million different news websites are having a field day right now with this new information, so I pull up safari and search Tom's name. Sure enough, websites announcing our engagement fill my screen. I laugh and turn off my phone, not caring what they wrote about us or whatever made up story they created. I know what really happened and that's the only memory I want of last night; the real moment.

—————

"What the fu-" I begin to say as I look up from my book and see Tom walking into the living room.

"So what do you think?" Tom says and rotates in a full 360 so I can get a good look. Tom said he was going to get a haircut and came back with a freaking buzzcut. 

"You look hot as always, but I wasn't expecting this!" I say and stand up from the couch. I rub my hand over his head and laugh. "It's soft."

"I wanted to surprise you! So... surprise!" He says happily.

"It's giving me army vibes, so I kind of dig it." I say and kiss his cheek. "Why'd you cut so much off?"

"It's for my character in Cherry." Tom explains and I nod my head in understanding. Ace comic con in Chicago is in a couple weeks and right after that, Tom begins filming for his new movie, Cherry.

—————

"I can't believe we're back in the U.S.!" I say as Tom, Harry, and I step off the plane and into the Chicago airport. I haven't been here since Tom and I left for the first time together in June! During these past few months, London has become my new home. So now as October begins, being back in the U.S. is just as foreign to me as it is to every other foreigner. It's going to be weird seeing people drive on the right side of the ride again instead of the left. 

Sadly, Harrison had to stay back in London so he couldn't tag along. Harry decided to come because he usually takes pictures for Tom at his many events. He's great with a camera! Last week, he took Tom and I's engagement photos. We got all dressed up and took pictures in the country side around sunset. The pictures turned out so amazing it literally made me cry. Tom even teared up a little!

We walk to the baggage claim and grab our suitcases quickly. A private chauffeur is coming to pick us up so that we don't get attacked by strange fans. Tom currently has is hood up over his head with sunglasses on and it makes me laugh. You can obviously still recognize that it's Tom Holland with his sharp jawline and incredible smile, but maybe that's just because I live with him and am so used to that adorable face. I just have sunglasses on because I don't need to do as much as him to become unrecognizable.

Tom opens the car door for me and we sit in the back together while Harry takes the front seat with the driver. "Hello mate!" I hear Harry tell the driver and the shake hands in a friendly manner.

"Are you excited you get to see Jake again?" Tom asks me and my face lights up.

"Babe, I'm super excited! I'm a little nervous to meet the others though." I say as my anxiety starts to kick in. Brie Larson, Tessa Thompson, and Chris Hemsworth will also be at this comic con because they have q&a panels and photo ops as well. I only plan on going to the comic con tomorrow because on Sunday, Harry and I are going to go sight seeing around Chicago together while Tom finishes up. I've never been to Chicago and I really want to see Cloud Gate! It's like a big bean statue in a park and it looks so fun. Harry wants to take some cool pictures of me!

"They're going to love you! How could they not?" Tom says and rubs my back as he grabs my hand with his other one. 

We arrive to the hotel and unpack our things as we listen to some Halloween music in the background. I am so excited for Halloween! Tom said he has some costumes ideas for us to choose from. After a good nights rest, we wake up the next Saturday morning feeling refreshed after having that time difference yesterday. 

Tom puts on a tight, black t shirt and it practically makes me want to jump on top of him right then and there. "Wow." I say as I slowly look him up and down with a grin.

"What?" Tom asks with a smirk and walks over to me as he buttons his jeans.

"Nothing. I just know what I want for dinner today." I say casually and Tom chuckles. He wraps his strong arms around me and I wrap mine around his waist. He kisses the top of my head as Harry walks into the room.

"Am I interrupting something?" Harry asks and Tom glares at him.

"No, don't worry." I say with a smile.

After we finish getting ready, we head over to the convention center and are guided to the photo op center through a secret hallway so that not crazy fans waiting to get inside can see us. I plan on staying behind the scenes all day and seeing Tom and Jake on their breaks. We all plan on getting lunch together later! 

Tom kisses me goodbye as he goes to start his first photo op session. To pass the time, I read my novel, Pride and Prejudice, and occasionally glance at my phone. The photo ops end and after we eat lunch together, Tom begins to prepare with Jake for their Q&A panel. I plan on sitting in the audience to watch!

"Let's do this!" Jake says excitedly as they both leave the room to head to the stage. Harry stays with me as we begin to walk to the seating area for the audience. Surprisingly, a ton of fans recognize us and we stop for some pictures a few times. Mostly, I just waved at people to be friendly. I don't want to miss my fiancé's panel.

We find a seat near the back just as Tom and Jake enter the stage. The audience begins to roar with applause and shouts and it makes me smile. I'm so proud of Tom. The interviewer discusses many things with the pair, like how it was working on the Spiderman movie together and what their plans for the future are. 

"So, Tom, we have to address the big event that happened a couple of weeks ago!" The interviewer says and Tom's face lights up with a smile. "You proposed to your girlfriend, Ellery Price, and I just gotta say, those engagement photos were gorgeous!"

"Oh thanks so much! Elle can just light up a whole room with her smile, she's what made those pictures so beautiful." Tom says humbly and my eyes begin to tear up. Tom always says the sweetest things to me, but hearing him talk about me in front of all these strangers just makes my heart flutter. It lets them know how much he loves me.

"You're just the sweetest thing! Ellery is one lucky girl." The lady says into the microphone. "Do you guys have a wedding date yet?"

"Not yet, we're just taking this period of our lives as slow as possible. We want to soak in these special moments of being engaged and take advantage of this time to plan the beautiful wedding ceremony. Ellery deserves the world, so I want it to be perfect for her."


End file.
